Luca Cattani (p), Sandro Montresor, Antonio Vezzani

Emils Kilis

see extended abstract

Delphine Gallaud (p)

Luca Cattani

After the food crisis in 2008, various large urban areas became aware of the lack of resilience of their food systems, which depend on long geographical import circuits and numerous intermediaries, leading to risks of shortages (Bricas, 2019, Rastouin 2018). They have therefore taken up the challenge of food and are seeking to reconnect with their nearest hinterland, especially as more than half of the world's population already resides there and their population will continue to grow (Moreno-Monroy & al, 2021).
Faced with the challenges linked to food, public actors also will seek to encourage a transition towards reterritorialised food systems by using the lever of collective catering (Morgan & Sonino, 2010). Purchasers do not activate often geographic proximity with wholesalers. On the other hand, they manage to activate some kind of organized proximity with these players. But recently, public policies have tried to impulse the reterritorialization of food system involving transactions with local actors and encouraging to activate latent geographical proximity with them especially with local farmers. Thus, reterritorialisation implies a reconfiguration of the articulation of proximities in supply chains.
This reterritorialisation of food has mainly been studied for the moment in urban territories. However, rural areas suffer from specific problems and in many cases inequalities in access to food. Moreover, they also suffer from invisibilisation, as potential initiatives are little studied. Collective catering is generally less present in rural areas than in urban areas, but it is not totally absent. The use of this lever for reterritorialisation can still be mobilised, but catering in these areas may be faced with specific issues, mainly a lack of local supply due to the decrease in the number of farmers and the orientation of their production. We will use the approach of the economy of proximity (Gilly & Torre, 2000, Torre, 2009) to analyse the (potential) activation of geographical proximity by rural and urban collective catering buyers with their suppliers.
We will use the social network method to analyse the network of suppliers to the collective catering sector. The objective is to identify a profile of buyers located in rural areas to be compared with that of urban areas according to their potential activation of geographical proximity. Our study area is the Côte d'Or department, which is part of the Burgundy region, one of the most rural regions in France.

Emils Kilis (p), Talis Tisenkopfs, Mikelis Grivins

Delphine Gallaud

A birds-eye view of the changes introduced by digitalisation and the vulnerabilities of rural areas is readily available in research and policy arenas. However, the possibilities and threats attendant to the implementation of digital technologies and digital infrastructures in rural areas are invariably contextual and local, highlighting the importance of micro and meso level analyses of digital ecosystems. In view of this, this paper considers the process of rural digitalisation in Latvia from the perspective of sustainable territorial development and urban-rural linkages, with a focus on maximising the socio-economic benefits of the digital transformation in rural areas.
Latvia is currently in a good position with respect to digital infrastructure and digital public services. However, the population has comparatively poor digital skills, especially in rural areas. Likewise, despite overall coverage being high, there are pronounced differences in internet accessibility between rural and urban areas, largely determined by low population density and low business activity. Furthermore, despite the creation of numerous public platforms for the provision of digital services, and policy measures and support programmes aimed at facilitating digitalisation, many rural inhabitants do not benefit from these developments. In conjunction, these factors can hamper the capacity of rural communities to make use of the opportunities offered by digitalisation, while simultaneously making them more vulnerable to the risks associated with the digital divide.
Based on consolidated findings from multiple H2020 and national projects, expert interviews and multi-actor-workshops, this paper argues that several aspects should be borne in mind when countering the digital divide and fostering sustainable territorial development. Specifically, we contend that successful local digital solutions require a good understanding of the regional socio-digital ecosystem. We suggest that special attention should be paid to the role and enrolment of local mentors and knowledge brokers. In addition, investments in digital solutions should take a long-term view, as their impact on territorial development and urban-rural linkages may not be immediate. Furthermore, we argue that digital solutions do not always entail radical departures from the mundane. However, this does not preclude them from having a transformative impact on communities and producing a more equitable and sustainable distribution of digital benefits. Policy interventions oriented towards infrastructure development, digital ecosystem design and skill enhancement should, therefore, be attuned to the practical realities in which digital tools are employed, while supporting initiatives that seek to introduce novel solutions for integrating the digital into everyday practices in rural areas.