Rethinking ‘rurality’ to inform inclusive and innovative policy: focus of new EU-funded project
- Rural Pact
- Rural Revitalisation Platform
- Stronger Rural Areas
- Connected rural areas
- Resilient rural areas
- Prosperous rural areas
Rural areas are facing intense transformations that call for an updated definition of rurality and tailored public policies. The RURALITIC project will rethink the concept of ‘rural’ and examine the relations between social groups and geographical spaces.
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RURALITIC is a project funded under the Horizon Europe programme running from 2025 to 2028, which focuses on strengthening the understanding of Europe’s rural areas while promoting inclusive and innovative rural development policies.
Grounded in social science methodologies, the project addresses how current public policies are responding to the specific needs of rural communities. The reconceptualisation of rurality will enable the creation of new data, surveys, indicators, knowledge and typologies on the current dynamics of rural areas, which will contribute to the development of more informed and tailored public policies.
Socio-demographic transformations, alongside the Covid-19 pandemic, have intensified the diversity and complexity of Europe’s rural areas, calling for a reorientation of public policies.
The insights developed by the project will inform the creation and deployment of scientific concepts and tools to analyse drivers of attractiveness, existing public policies, and innovative initiatives. Additionally, the project will produce different future scenarios that envision resilient and thriving rural areas.