Bridging Digital Geographies and Socially Smart Villages: Participatory Action Research in Rural Place Design

This article critically explores the intersection of digital geographies, community building, tourism development, and bottom-up processes that shape resilient rural futures. While rural development initiatives often adopt urban-centric norms and technology-driven solutions, such approaches risk overlooking the lived realities and social fabric of rural communities. Digital representations of rural places frequently reinforce stereotypes, leaving these regions underrepresented and mischaracterised in media narratives. In the Smart Villages in Sweden project, we sought to counter this trend by integrating tourism and place design through participatory, place-based methods. Rather than assuming technology as a panacea, our approach foregrounded local knowledge, everyday practices, and grassroots engagement to co-create digital solutions that resonate with rural life. This participatory action research process enabled the identification of concepts that address local challenges and aspirations, fostering hope and vitality within communities. Our findings demonstrate that sensible digital development—anchored in sociality and local agency—can bridge spatial, social, and digital divides. By combining geomedia studies with tailored, community-driven design, digital tools become more than technical artefacts: They serve as catalysts for storytelling, value creation, and connection. Ultimately, technology must be embedded in the rhythms of rural life to strengthen social bonds, cohesion, and solidarity. We argue that sustainable rural futures depend not only on innovation but on approaches that respect and amplify the voices and practices of those who inhabit these places.