Abstract

The urban-rural divide in EU countries has grown in recent years, and the depopulation of certain rural areas in favour of cities is a challenge when it comes to promoting economic development and maintaining social cohesion and convergence. Using data from Eurofound and Eurostat, this report will investigate the trends and drivers of the urban-rural divide, in various dimensions: economic and employment opportunities, access to services, living conditions and quality of life. It will analyse and explain the speed of convergence of big cities compared with rural areas, with emphasis on changes in human capital and demographic structure, as well as access to innovation and digitalisation. It will also provide an overview of selected initiatives to improve access to and adequacy of public services in remote rural areas.