The vision of digitally connected and participatory "Smart Villages" has been present in European politics and public discourse for several years. However, understanding the interactions between digitalisation and citizen participation in rural areas is still a niche topic in academic journals. They primarily deal with broadband expansion, the characterisation of rural areas and the integration of top-down measures with bottom-up initiatives.
In order to fill this gap, a recently published journal article offers a systematic evaluation of articles in scientific journals from the years 2010-2020 that deal with the interface between digitalisation, participation and rural development. The journal article is based on the results of the joint project "DigiBeL - Perspectives and Possible Applications of Digital Participation Procedures in Rural Regional Development" (2020-2023), which is being carried out jointly by the IfLS and the Institute for Media and Communication Studies (IfKMW) at the University of Leipzig. The project is funded within the framework of the Federal Programme for Rural Development (BULE) of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). Further information can be found in the project entry.
The article is available here.
Contact persons at IfLS: Sarah Peter (peter[at]ifls.de), Simone Sterly (sterly[at]ifls.de)
