Rural areas in Europe today cover more than half of its area with more than a third its population make their home there. However, despite the significant contribution of these areas to the economy and our well being, they lack access to a range of services, which are otherwise available to urban citizens.
RURBANIVE aims to bridge the gap between rural and urban communities and seeks to foster mutual growth and development by changing the dynamics between rural and urban areas
through the power of innovative strategies and immersive technologies.
The project's mission is to create a platform that encourages participation and promotes territorial governance, thus putting rural citizens at the heart of policy-making.
Seven co-creation labs that focus on enhancing social connectivity and cooperation have been set up across Europe and will enable stakeholders to engage in dialogue and co-design of innovations in six domains known to favour bi-directional rural-urban synergies:
- Improving Logistics and Shortening Value Chains: in Czechia we will provide training to the public and farmers on processing raw material to produce food which can be locally distributed;
- Ecosystem and Biodiversity restoration: in Milos island, Greece, we will integrate natural and agricultural ecosystems by introducing microbiome-based technologies;
- Regional Circular Bioeconomy: in Lower Austria we will map and analyse residual biomass flows to identify innovation pathways to optimise its use towards developing the regional circular bioeconomy
- User Engagement and Territorial Awareness: in Kedainiai, Lithuania, we will establish a startup village to promote innovation in the agrifood sector
- Culture, Landscape and Heritage Access and Promotion: in Burgos, Spain, we will use cognitive computing tools to understand what makes some areas attractive to visitors in order to promote sustainable tourism and reduce rural depopulation
- Enhanced Mobility: in Trikala, Greece, and Lemgo, Germany, we will improve commuting based on computer simulations to enhance mobility.
Extended reality technologies will play a pivotal role in the project enabling the creation of immersive environments to facilitate experimentation and engage stakeholders during the co-creation activities.
Project outcomes will be accessible on the RURBANIVE Community Store, and a rural-urban Innovation Framework will be established to demonstrate how other areas can use these or benefit from such innovations, tools and services.
