Rural Attractiveness Index and Its Visualization as Tools to Support Local and Regional Decision-Making

Abstract

Promoting rural regions is crucial for societies all over the world. Prosperous and vital rural regions can contribute to solving many pressing problems that threaten humanity, such as climate change, poverty, hunger, health or clean energy. The attractiveness of rural regions can be improved through targeted measures and support. For the design of such targeted interventions, high-quality assessments of rural attractiveness can provide a solid information basis. However, the attractiveness of rural regions is a complex construct and therefore difficult to assess. Thus, in this paper, we present tools for the assessment of rural attractiveness that address these complexities and support use and interpretation of the results of rural attractiveness assessments by stakeholders: First, we develop a Rural Attractiveness Index (RAI) which provides a general blueprint for assessing rural attractiveness, yet still is flexible and adaptable to each specific context. As integrated measure of rural attractiveness it also facilitates interpretation by stakeholders. Second, to further enhance interpretation and communication, we propose to visualize the RAI in map-based form. We demonstrate the application of these tools through an illustrative showcase in a European context. We discuss strengths, limitations and challenges of the presented tools and highlight directions for future research.