Smart Urban-Rural Development – a VASAB Connected Society Workshop, Stockholm

The Smart Urban-Rural Development – a VASAB Connected Society Workshop was held on 18 May 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. The VASAB workshop was organised as back-to-back event to the VASAB Committee on Spatial Planning and Development of the Baltic Sea Region (CSPD/BSR) 75th meeting on 19 May 2017.

This workshop painted a colourful picture of present and future urban-rural development in the BSR by describing:

• The Present Cooperative Exchange between Cities and their Surrounding Countryside
• Normative Ideas on How Smart Urban-Rural Relations Should Be Further Developed
• Options to Use Digitalisation, IoT and Other Smart Connected Solutions to Achieve Such a Desired Development

There were three sections of presentations, reflecting various aspects on sustainable urban-rural development:

• Environmental Improvements (The Rurban Link – Towards Resilient and Sustainable RuralUrban Systems; Urban Architecture Embracing the Rural Countryside)
• Social Life Qualities (Housing in Rural Areas; Rostock Regiopolis Region – Interaction and Cooperation between City and Region)
• Economic Progress (Territorial Monitoring and State of the Digital Region; Sharing Economy)