Territorial and human geography challenges: How can smart villages support rural development and population inclusion?

Abstract

Rural areas are significantly affected by spatial vulnerability, the digital gap, depopulation, and population ageing. Marginalized populations are seeking collective well-being, social inclusion, and local development in smart villages, an increasingly important area of interest for scholars and practitioners as well as rural areas and communities. This article attempts to highlight the dominant trends in smart villages planning and depict the characteristics of Greek rural areas and populations alongside the implemented localized smart actions. To achieve this aim, the research utilized the existing literature through bibliometric analysis by extracting data from the Web of Science database. Building upon the bibliometrics, the research focused on identifying localized implemented interventions in the Greek rural areas. The results suggest that innovation, knowledge, growth, and management appear to impact rural smart planning, while the limited interventions of smart villages in Greece focus on social innovation and local development. The study argues that in Greece, a single holistic smart villages model cannot be proposed, due to the country’s geographical and demographical variability. The proposed trends, though, can be implemented locally to encourage rural development and population inclusion; therefore it is recommended to increase local stakeholders’ awareness and active engagement. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.