Rural resilience in the context of trends in urban-rural digital divide

Rural areas are at a crossroad characterised by digitisation. Therefore, it is necessary to focus the research on the theoretical and empirical verification of the concept of rural resilience which is under the pressure of trends in urban-rural digital divide. Although there is a significant improvement in the coverage of territories by the Internet, quality of connectivity is currently an issue as well as the degree to which requirements in terms of its speed and stability are met. But there is also a need to focus more critically on the different forms and ways of using the Internet in the territory, as well as various types of benefits for citizens, entrepreneurs, NGOs and other stakeholders. Diversity of forms of use is linked to various rural groups. Therefore, research reflects socio-demographic links, rurality and digital inclusion in terms of the ability of actors in rural areas to compete in this new environment. The project also aims to confront these trends with EU rural development policy settings.

The main aim of this project is to determine key traits of the rural resilience concept in relation to the deepening of the urban-rural digital divide and also to define appropriate conceptual perspectives of the rural studies paradigm development.

Team leader & members

• Assoc. Prof. Martin Pělucha – team leader, Prague University of Economics and Business
• Ing. Marek Feurich – team member, Prague University of Economics and Business
• Prof. Edward Kasabov – team member, Tallinn University of Technology –  School of Business and Governance, Estonia
• RNDr. Jana Kouřilová, Ph.D. – team member, Prague University of Economics and Business
• Prof. RNDr. René Wokoun, CSc. – team member, Prague University of Economics and Business

Selected publications

• PĚLUCHA, Martin, KASABOV, Edward, aj. Rural Development in the Digital Age: Exploring Neo-Productivist EU Rural Policy [online]. 1st Edition. Abingdon : Routledge, 2020. 242 s. Regions and Cities. ISBN 978-0-367-35658-3. eISBN 978-0-429-34098-7. DOI: 10.4324/9780429340987.
• PĚLUCHA, Martin. Smart Villages and Investments to Public Services and ICT Infrastructure: Case of the Czech Rural Development Program 2007-2013. European Countryside [online]. 2019, roč. 11, č. 4, s. 584–598. eISSN 1803-8417. DOI: 10.2478/euco-2019-0032.

Contact

Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE)
Faculty of Economics
Department of Regional Studies
Assoc. Prof. Martin Pělucha
email: martin.pelucha@vse.cz

More information

https://nf.vse.cz/english/

We are interested for motivated post graduate students interesting in the economics of regional studies, regional development, digital economy and its territorial urban-rural dimension.