Über das Projekt

European economic, social and territorial cohesion is threatened by the unequal development of growing urban and declining rural areas. RURALIZATION develops a novel perspective for rural areas to trigger a process of ruralisation as counterforce to urbanisation, that is, a development towards a new rural frontier offering new generations stimulating opportunities for economic and social sustainability within a rural context. These opportunities will serve both existing inhabitants of rural areas, to overcome the dilemma between place attachment and lack of economic opportunities, and rural newcomers who bring novel and innovative perspectives and relational networks to rural areas. RURALIZATION will utilise both quantitative and qualitative methods to develop innovations and to make these transferable to other contexts. Innovative practices will be selected by two methods. First, by the use of statistical data and foresight analysis to find areas that deviate from the general trend of rural decline and distinguish, using a multi-actor approach, the instruments and approaches that may contribute to these trend breaches. Secondly, through the study of new approaches and instruments in practice, and by developing these in a multi-actor context, to be applied in new contexts of application. Based on the call, innovations will be on facilitating rural newcomers, rural jobs, new entrants into farming and access to land for new generations. In foresight analysis rural dreams of new generations will be investigated and alternative rural futures will be designed and reflected with rural stakeholders and focus groups in terms of possibility, probability and preferability. Actions will be formulated to make positive futures reality. The outcomes of the project will result in novel options for policy makers and practical tools for rural actors. An extensive communication campaign will disseminate the project and its results.