IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v74y2023ics0160791x23001094.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mind the gap: The AURORAL ecosystem for the digital transformation of smart communities and rural areas

Author

Listed:
  • Gómez-Carmona, Oihane
  • Buján-Carballal, David
  • Casado-Mansilla, Diego
  • López-de-Ipiña, Diego
  • Cano-Benito, Juan
  • Cimmino, Andrea
  • Poveda-Villalón, María
  • García-Castro, Raúl
  • Almela-Miralles, Jorge
  • Apostolidis, Dimitris
  • Drosou, Anastasios
  • Tzovaras, Dimitrios
  • Wagner, Martin
  • Guadalupe-Rodriguez, María
  • Salinas, Diego
  • Esteller, David
  • Riera-Rovira, Martí
  • González, Arnau
  • Clavijo-Ágreda, Jaime
  • Díez-Frias, Alberto
  • Bocanegra-Yáñez, María del Carmen
  • Pedro-Henriques, Rui
  • Ferreira-Nunes, Elsa
  • Lux, Marian
  • Bujalkova, Nikol

Abstract

Rural areas play a crucial role in addressing challenges related to climate change, food provision, biomass, and energy. At the same time, digital solutions have proven essential in improving safety, quality of life, and resilience in daily life. However, the lower population density and the lack of digital infrastructure in such rural areas make it difficult to develop technology-driven private businesses and public services. This can negatively impact socio-economic indicators and hinder the development of new services to cover peoples’ needs. For this reason, in this document, we seek to provide a stronger focus on rural regions in digitalization efforts and create new opportunities for rural communities. For that, we analyze the barriers and needs of the rural environment and present AURORAL, a digital service platform designed to meet the needs and contexts of rural areas. This ecosystem, comprising sustainable and multi-interoperable apps and services, can help communities succeed in innovation and smart transformation, providing the necessary infrastructure to facilitate long-lasting social, environmental, and economic benefits by prioritizing openness, interoperability, and decentralization. On the principle that the full potential of these technologies can only be realized when they are integrated into societal and economic activity and organization, AURORAL aims to promote economic growth and digitalization in the rural domain and contribute to bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Gómez-Carmona, Oihane & Buján-Carballal, David & Casado-Mansilla, Diego & López-de-Ipiña, Diego & Cano-Benito, Juan & Cimmino, Andrea & Poveda-Villalón, María & García-Castro, Raúl & Almela-Miralles, , 2023. "Mind the gap: The AURORAL ecosystem for the digital transformation of smart communities and rural areas," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001094
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102304
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X23001094
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102304?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zerrer, Nicole & Sept, Ariane, 2020. "Smart Villagers as Actors of Digital Social Innovation in Rural Areas," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(4), pages 78-88.
    2. Evgenia Anastasiou & Stella Manika & Konstantina Ragazou & Ioannis Katsios, 2021. "Territorial and Human Geography Challenges: How Can Smart Villages Support Rural Development and Population Inclusion?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Federica Caffaro & Eugenio Cavallo, 2019. "The Effects of Individual Variables, Farming System Characteristics and Perceived Barriers on Actual Use of Smart Farming Technologies: Evidence from the Piedmont Region, Northwestern Italy," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-13, May.
    4. Sabiölla Hosseini & Leonhard Frank & Gilbert Fridgen & Sebastian Heger, 2018. "Do Not Forget About Smart Towns," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 60(3), pages 243-257, June.
    5. Silvia Rolandi & Gianluca Brunori & Manlio Bacco & Ivano Scotti, 2021. "The Digitalization of Agriculture and Rural Areas: Towards a Taxonomy of the Impacts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, May.
    6. de Clercq, Michaël & D'Haese, Marijke & Buysse, Jeroen, 2023. "Economic growth and broadband access: The European urban-rural digital divide," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6).
    7. Alexandre Dubois & Franziska Sielker, 2022. "Digitalization in sparsely populated areas: between place-based practices and the smart region agenda," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(10), pages 1771-1782, October.
    8. Dalia Streimikiene & Tomas Baležentis & Artiom Volkov & Mangirdas Morkūnas & Agnė Žičkienė & Justas Streimikis, 2021. "Barriers and Drivers of Renewable Energy Penetration in Rural Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-28, October.
    9. Klingenberg, Cristina Orsolin & Valle Antunes Júnior, José Antônio & Müller-Seitz, Gordon, 2022. "Impacts of digitalization on value creation and capture: Evidence from the agricultural value chain," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    10. Paolo Gerli & Julio Navio Marco & Jason Whalley, 2022. "What makes a smart village smart? A review of the literature," Post-Print hal-03605612, HAL.
    11. Ruben Sánchez-Corcuera & Adrián Nuñez-Marcos & Jesus Sesma-Solance & Aritz Bilbao-Jayo & Rubén Mulero & Unai Zulaika & Gorka Azkune & Aitor Almeida, 2019. "Smart cities survey: Technologies, application domains and challenges for the cities of the future," International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks, , vol. 15(6), pages 15501477198, June.
    12. Olof Sivertsson & Joakim Tell, 2015. "Barriers to Business Model Innovation in Swedish Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-13, February.
    13. Simona Stojanova & Nina Cvar & Jurij Verhovnik & Nataša Božić & Jure Trilar & Andrej Kos & Emilija Stojmenova Duh, 2022. "Rural Digital Innovation Hubs as a Paradigm for Sustainable Business Models in Europe’s Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Nicole Zerrer & Ariane Sept, 2020. "Smart Villagers as Actors of Digital Social Innovation in Rural Areas," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 78-88.
    15. Mounce, Richard & Beecroft, Mark & Nelson, John D., 2020. "On the role of frameworks and smart mobility in addressing the rural mobility problem," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Qian Wang & Shixian Luo & Jiao Zhang & Katsunori Furuya, 2022. "Increased Attention to Smart Development in Rural Areas: A Scientometric Analysis of Smart Village Research," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-28, August.
    2. Rodrigo, Laura & Ortiz-Marcos, Isabel & Palacios, Miguel & Romero, Javier, 2022. "Success of organisations developing digital social innovation: Analysis of motivational key drivers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 854-862.
    3. Maria Klonowska-Matynia, 2022. "Human Capital as a Source of Energy for Rural Areas’ Socio-Economic Development—Empirical Evidence for Rural Areas in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-31, November.
    4. Iqbal Yulizar Mukti & Maria E. Iacob & Adina Aldea & Rajesri Govindaraju & Jos Hillegersberg, 2022. "Defining Rural Smartness and Its Impact: A Systematic Literature Review," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(2), pages 956-1007, June.
    5. Maria Klonowska-Matynia, 2023. "Do Local Socio-Economic Structures Determine the Spatial Distribution of Human Capital? Analysis of Connections for Rural Areas in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-26, October.
    6. Becker, Jörg & Distel, Bettina & Grundmann, Matthias & Hupperich, Thomas & Kersting, Norbert & Löschel, Andreas & Parreira do Amaral, Marcelo & Scholta, Hendrik, 2021. "Challenges and potentials of digitalisation for small and mid-sized towns: Proposition of a transdisciplinary research agenda," ERCIS Working Papers 36, University of Münster, European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS).
    7. G. Yoganandan & Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman & M. Vasan & Abdelrhman Meero, 2022. "Evaluating agripreneurs’ satisfaction: exploring the effect of demographics and emporographics," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    8. Simona Stojanova & Nina Cvar & Jurij Verhovnik & Nataša Božić & Jure Trilar & Andrej Kos & Emilija Stojmenova Duh, 2022. "Rural Digital Innovation Hubs as a Paradigm for Sustainable Business Models in Europe’s Rural Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.
    9. Mulley, Corinne & Nelson, John D. & Ho, Chinh & Hensher, David A., 2023. "MaaS in a regional and rural setting: Recent experience," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 75-85.
    10. Shang, Linmei & Heckelei, Thomas & Gerullis, Maria K. & Börner, Jan & Rasch, Sebastian, 2021. "Adoption and diffusion of digital farming technologies - integrating farm-level evidence and system interaction," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    11. Oleg Golubchikov & Mary J. Thornbush, 2022. "Smart Cities as Hybrid Spaces of Governance: Beyond the Hard/Soft Dichotomy in Cyber-Urbanization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-12, August.
    12. Poizat, Axelle & Duvaleix-Treguer, Sabine & Bonnet-Beaugrand, Florence, 2018. "Vertical integration and health control measures in the French young bull sector," Working Papers 273145, Institut National de la recherche Agronomique (INRA), Departement Sciences Sociales, Agriculture et Alimentation, Espace et Environnement (SAE2).
    13. Rübcke von Veltheim, Friedrich & Claussen, Frans & Heise, Heinke, 2020. "Autonomous Field Robots in Agriculture: A Qualitative Analysis of User Acceptance According to Different Agricultural Machinery Companies," 60th Annual Conference, Halle/ Saale, Germany, September 23-25, 2020 305587, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    14. Metta, Matteo & Ciliberti, Stefano & Obi, Chinedu & Bartolini, Fabio & Klerkx, Laurens & Brunori, Gianluca, 2022. "An integrated socio-cyber-physical system framework to assess responsible digitalisation in agriculture: A first application with Living Labs in Europe," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    15. Kathrin Hasler & Hans-Werner Olfs & Onno Omta & Stefanie Bröring, 2016. "Drivers for the Adoption of Eco-Innovations in the German Fertilizer Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-18, July.
    16. Axelle Poizat & Sabine Duvaleix & Jill Hobbs, 2022. "How does transaction governance in the animal supply chain influence antibiotic use? A study of the French young bull sector," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 1890-1908, December.
    17. Sarah Hackfort, 2021. "Patterns of Inequalities in Digital Agriculture: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    18. Antonio Thomas & Rosalia Castellano & Gennaro Punzo & Giuseppe Scandurra, 2024. "The Energy Transition in SMEs: The Italian Experience," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-16, February.
    19. Zhong Xinzhi, 2023. "Agricultural and rural digitalisation in regional sustainable development: A comparative study between China and the European Union," Cognitive Sustainability, Cognitive Sustainability Ltd., vol. 2(2), pages 44-56, June.
    20. Kamali Saraji, Mahyar & Aliasgari, Elahe & Streimikiene, Dalia, 2023. "Assessment of the challenges to renewable energy technologies adoption in rural areas: A Fermatean CRITIC-VIKOR approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:74:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001094. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.