Special Session 10: Creating Rural–Urban Synergies in Public Infrastructure and Social Services – Experiences from the ROBUST Project and Beyond

Amidst the global climate crisis, growing resource scarcity, and demographic change, solutions that highlight the commonalities — instead of dichotomies — between rural and urban are urgently needed. Identifying synergy effects is crucial in order to achieve sustainable, inclusive regional development and improved quality of life outcomes. New concepts need to be developed, to tackle existing obstacles that limit the development of rural-urban synergies, including administrative and political barriers. A major task in this context is to find innovative and sustainable delivery solutions for public infrastructures and social services — the physical glue between rural and urban, and a tangible part of wellbeing in liveable regions. Through the Horizon 2020 ROBUST project, we are exploring the inclusive development of public infrastructures and social services between rural and urban spaces. We aim to generate rural-urban synergies that are facilitated by improved governance processes, encourage sustainable resource use, and offer better choices and access for residents. In this session, we invite papers that broadly share our goals and explicitly address rural-urban interconnections. Topics may include, for example: mobility, physical and digital infrastructure, renewable energy, recreation facilities, and health and social care.