RUSTIK

On this World Happiness Day, we’d love to hear from you: what would make life in your rural area happier in 10 years – better mobility, green jobs, more shared spaces, or stronger digital connections? Share your ideas and join the conversation on thriving rural futures. 🌱

😊 Today is World Happiness Day, a good moment to ask what really makes life in rural areas fulfilling. Through #RUSTIK, we work with 14 pilot regions across Europe to better understand how data can support smarter, more inclusive rural policies. 🔍 rustik-he.eu/living-labs/

Key insights: 🔸 Importance of engaging stakeholders from the start of the research process. 🔸 How participatory methods can combine scientific knowledge with local expertise. 🔸 Potential of approaches like Living Labs to translate research into practical action and policy.

🌍 New publication: Participatory approaches to research and change in urban and rural areas. The participatory paradigm is explored as an approach that places communities at the center of the research process, from problems to solutions. 📖 zenodo.org/records/185492…

#RustikDatainAction The Troyan–Apriltsi–Ugarchin (TAU) Living Lab in Bulgaria is using the #RUSTIK Data Viewer to make its rural food system visible. 🎯 Mapping who produces what and where, to spot gaps and design strategies for rural development. 🎥 youtu.be/VRq9EEYqpP4

These abstracts translate research into practical, actionable insights for rural actors, policymakers, and practitioners, covering innovative approaches: 🔸Web and Data Scraping 🔸Smart Dashboards 🔸Participatory Mapping & GIS 🔸Youth Engagement 🔸Agent-Based Land Use Modelling

🌾 Bridging Research and Rural Practice: RUSTIK Practice Abstracts. We’ve been sharing each of the RUSTIK Practice Abstracts individually, but you can now consult all seven together in one place: rustik-he.eu/practice-abstr…

@ruralgranular 🗓️ Day 1 will focus on presenting the main research outputs and results from both projects, including local perspectives and contributions from external speakers. 🗓️ Day 2 will look ahead to the future of rural policies and showcase practical, on-the-ground experiences.

📢 Save the Date: #RUSTIK & #GRANULAR Final Conference! Join us on 24–25 June 2026 at Fondation Universitaire, Brussels 🇧🇪 for the joint final conference of the RUSTIK and  @ruralgranular projects. 🔍 rustik-he.eu/2026/03/save-t… 🔜 Registration and agenda. Stay tuned!

🏡 Are you attending The Future of Rural Europe: Making migration work for regions in decline in Brussels on 10 March? Don’t miss the panel debate at 12:00: “What makes people stay and what brings them home?” featuring Ingrid Machold (#BAB, Austria). 🔍 nordregio.org/future-rural-e…

That’s the spirit behind #RUSTIK Living Labs: turning local knowledge and data into learning that can support better decisions, here and elsewhere.

The world loves Punch. And rural transitions need it too. Here’s the truth we keep seeing across #RUSTIK Living Labs: data doesn’t automatically become decisions, especially in rural places where evidence is fragmented, aggregated, or arrives after the policy window has closed.

🔸 Ewa Korcelli-Olejniczak (2025). Participatory approach in investigating and generating change in urban and rural areas. 🔍 zenodo.org/records/185492…

🔸Machold, I., Ernst, D., & Schroll, K. (2025) – Kleine ländliche Unternehmen in der Nockregion-Oberkärnten (Small Rural Enterprises in the Nockregion-Oberkärnten). Proceedings of the Austrian Society of Agricultural Economics, 76-77. 🔍 zenodo.org/records/177084…

📢 Check out the scientific publications achieved so far! We are excited to share some of the latest research outputs from our project, advancing knowledge on rural development and agri-food systems. 🔍 rustik-he.eu/publications/ 📖 Stay tuned for more research outputs!

Using a stochastic, path dependent algorithm and adjustable local parameters, it reveals how different planning rules and starting conditions may reshape rural landscapes over time. More in the #RUSTIK databases report (Land Use Agent Based Model) 👉 rustik-he.eu/wp-content/upl…

#RUSTIKPracticeAbstracts The Land Use Agent Based Model is an Excel based exploratory tool that lets local planners in Spain test “what if” scenarios for residential, industrial, agricultural and forest land. 🔍 #land-use-agent-based-model" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">rustik-he.eu/practice-abstr…

It connects public register data into ten thematic maps (from restaurants and organic producers to markets, festivals and schools), creating new spatial insights for local food, tourism and policy. Explore the platform here 👇 gis.migta.eu/en/

#RUSTIKPracticeAbstracts GIS “On the Way of Local Food in Troyan, Apriltsi and Ugarchin” is the first European map that geolocates agri food actors and visualises local food systems at municipal level. 🔍 #geographical-identification-system-gis-on-the-way-of-local-food-in-troyan-apriltsi-and-ugarchin" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">rustik-he.eu/practice-abstr…