Nordic rural areas are facing complex, interconnected challenges, from labour shortages and shrinking populations to green, digital, and remote work transitions. At the same time, these challenges offer an opportunity to recognise the diversity of Nordic rural areas and at even leverage and build on local specifities to pave the way towards the future.
The Roadmap for Nordic Rural Development builds on and summarises the work of the Nordic Thematic Group on Green and Inclusive Rural Development (2021–2024). Drawing from discussions, workshops, and project results, the roadmap highlights the Nordic added value of recent initiatives, outlines overarching themes for rural development, and proposes future thematic areas and projects for exploration.
Explore the interactive storymap to discover innovative policy solutions for mobile living and working, place-based approaches, strengthened administrative capacity, and genuine stakeholder involvement—all designed to foster sustainable and inclusive rural development. The roadmap outlines strategies and solutions for the future, as well as the key findings and recommendations from projects focused on rural development and points towards remaining challenges and questions to be addressed going forward.
Related Staff
Related Research Projects
- Strategies to address rural labour shortage
- Smart Adaptation to Rural Realities: Approaches and practices in Nordic municipalities and regions
- Service provision and access to services in Nordic rural areas – secure, trusted and for all ages
- A Just Green Transition in rural areas: local benefits from value creation
- Remote work and multilocality post-pandemic
Related Publications
- Planning around remote work
- Strategies to address Nordic rural labour shortage
- Remote Work in Smaller Towns: Possibilities and uncertainties
- Remote Work in Rural Areas: Possibilities and uncertainties
- Between hand-outs and stand-outs: Opportunities for policy support for just green transitions
- Can local value creation induce a sense of justice during green transitions? A study of six rural areas in Denmark, Finland, and Norway
- Service provision and access to services in Nordic rural areas
- Discussion paper: A “Just Green Transition” for Rural Areas in the Nordic Region: key concepts and implications
- Strengthening Nordic cooperation on remote work and multilocality
- Local and regional experiences of remote work and multilocality
- Remote work: Effects on Nordic people, places and planning 2021-2024
- Essential rural services in the Nordic Region – Challenges and opportunities
- Essential Service Provision and Access to Services in Nordic Rural Areas
