RURALPLAN will focus on innovative planning in rural areas experiencing population decline, with cases from three areas in Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Current planning theories, policies and strategies often underline the need for population incline.
RURALPLAN aims to change this perspective by facilitating democratic planning processes with broad participation, where a realistic understanding of the conditions, including population development in rural municipalities, will be the foundation.
Inland Norway University og Applied Sciences already has developed a model for use in such knowledge-based strategic planning and policy development in rural areas. The model is called RUPIL, the Rural Planning- and Innovation Lab.
The RUPIL-model is based on well-established innovation methodology, but this methodology has not systematically been incorporate into a planning context. Both the methodological experiences and the co-created results from the participation processes in RURALPLAN can hopefully be useful for urban planners throughout Europe.
What we will do and deliver
The RUPIL will be tested in three selected case areas in Inland Norway, the Swedish area of Dalarna and an Alpine region in Switzerland. In addition, data analyses, literature reviews, document studies, and interviews will be conducted to provide an overview of development trends around planning in the selected areas experiencing population decline.
Based on this RURALPLAN will propose strategies that can be used by local and regional policymakers to ensure that shrinking and/or ageing rural areas become as inclusive, resilient, and provide opportunities for quality of life as satisfactorily as possible. Maps, statistics and other material will be made availabe in the ESPON Database Portal. A policy brief on innovative planning model for rural shrinking territories will sum up the findings of RURALPLAN.
See also Euromontana's, one of our stakeholders, website on RURALPLAN
RURALPLAN cases
The cases in RURALPLAN are determined in collaboration with the local stakeholders.
- In Norway, the Rural Planning and Innovation Lab will be conducted in Os municipality.
- In Sweden, the Rural Planning and Innovation Lab will be conducted in Malung-Sälen.
- In Switzerland, the Rural Planning and Innovation Lab will be conducted in the Albula region.
Deliveries in RURALPLAN
Here you can find usefull documents and material produced by the RURALPLAN team
Information flyer for the RUPIL process
Report RURALPLAN methodological framework and knowledge - basis for the pilot cases (engelsk)
Researchers Night 2024 i Etnedal i september
