Habitat matters Manage and reduce the risks of the built heritage by promoting the ecological transition, accessibility and sustainable mobility in rural areas

This thesis explores sustainable mobility challenges and solutions in European rural areas, emphasizing inclusive and ecological approaches to enhance transportation systems. Conducted under the Green PhDs initiative within the PON Research and Innovation 2014–2020 program, it aligns with the PRIN Branding4Resilience (B4R) project. Using the Marche Region central Apennines (Appennino Basso Pesarese e Anconetano (ABPA) in Italy as a starting point of reflection and a reference case study alongside analyses of other European rural areas, the research investigates the unique challenges faced by inner regions. These areas are often characterized by economic underdevelopment, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient policy focus. Transportation poverty in such regions exacerbates social exclusion and limits access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and employment. This study aims to alleviate these barriers while fostering equitable development, proposing solutions that enhance sustainable mobility, regional connectivity, and socioeconomic revitalization. The main findings are a set of guidelines designed to inform researchers, policymakers and planners across Europe, providing insights that can be adapted to various rural and inner areas facing similar challenges. This study employs a policy transfer approach that is both systematic, meaning it is methodically structured to ensure consistency and replicability and adaptive, indicating flexibility to adjust based on contextual insights and feedback, to examine rural mobility challenges and enhance mobility systems. While recognizing the value of transport engineering perspectives, the research prioritizes socioeconomic, ecological, and inclusivity dimensions of rural mobility systems within the broader framework of urban planning. Rather than focusing on technical infrastructure analyses, it emphasizes identifying and adapting innovative mobility solutions from diverse regions to address contemporary challenges. By integrating advanced solutions suited to contemporary challenges such as climate change, the study ensures a forward-thinking and flexible policy framework. This methodological distinction aligns with the study's overarching objective of exploring sustainable and equitable mobility solutions, contributing to a holistic understanding of rural mobility systems and their policy implications. Rural areas in Europe, including inner areas like the Marche central Apennines, hold immense potential for driving sustainability and economic development. Rich in natural resources, these areas serve as vital habitats that encompass settlements and life, essential for sustaining well-being, ecological health, and playing a critical role in supporting agriculture, agri-processing industries, tourism, and rural manufacturing. Agriculture is particularly vital, ensuring food security while bolstering local economies. Similarly, tourism thrives in many rural regions, largely due to their cultural heritage and natural landscapes. According to World Heritage Sites data from 2023, 11 of the 23 countries with the highest number of heritage sites are European, with Italy ranking first, followed by Germany, France, and Spain. Notably, many of these heritage sites are located in rural areas, underscoring their immense tourism potential. Supporting this, Eurostat data from 2021 shows that rural areas accounted for 43.8% of beds in tourism accommodations in Europe, compared to 33.8% in towns and suburbs, and only 21.4% in cities. Beyond tourism, rural manufacturing leverages local labor and resources to produce goods for broader markets, while the expansion of digital connectivity provides new opportunities for economic growth. Rural businesses are now able to innovate and reach global audiences, further enhancing their contribution to the economy. Moreover, rural areas are central to advancing Europe’s green transition, offering unique opportunities for renewable energy production, reforestation, and biodiversity conservation. These activities not only contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but also create high-quality jobs, fostering a symbiotic relationship between economic growth and environmental protection. By leveraging these strengths, rural areas can play a transformative role in building a sustainable and resilient future for Europe. Despite their immense potential, rural areas in Europe face persistent challenges that hinder their development. Limited transportation infrastructure, poor connectivity, and fragmented policies isolate rural communities, exacerbating inequalities and social exclusion. The lack of a cohesive and regulatory rural mobility policy at the European level further compounds these challenges. Without specific requirements for rural mobility measures, member states leave regions and local areas to address transportation needs based solely on their available resources. This policy gap results in a scarcity or absence of public transportation options, often characterized by low-frequency services that fail to meet diverse user needs and lack coordination with broader public transport systems. Regions like the Marche Region exemplify these struggles, where low population density, aging communities, and geographical isolation make it difficult to establish efficient public transport systems. Residents are heavily reliant on private vehicles, as alternatives are either unavailable or prohibitively expensive. This reliance continues transportation poverty, restricting access to essential services like healthcare, education, and employment especially for fragile categories. Long distances, poor infrastructure, and infrequent services further hinder travel connections, leaving many rural facilities inaccessible without a car. Children, in particular, are excessively affected, as they depend on their parents for mobility, limiting their independence for activities like traveling to school. Urban-centric policies worsen these challenges by prioritizing investment and infrastructure development in metropolitan areas, leaving rural regions underfunded and underserved. This neglect threatens the resilience of rural habitats, undermining access to essential services and weakening the interconnected ecosystems that sustain rural livelihoods. Habitats are dynamic systems comprising natural elements such as land, water, and vegetation, alongside human-made structures, including buildings and cultural heritage. These integrated systems are essential for maintaining biodiversity, fostering ecological balance, and supporting cultural and historical continuity within communities. They sustain agriculture and tourism while providing critical ecosystem services to society at large. Mobility and accessibility are crucial for strengthening these ecosystems, as they intertwine infrastructure, community development, and environmental benefits. However, low population density, seasonal demand, and long travel distances complicate the provision of cost-effective public transport services in rural areas. Unlike urban regions, which benefit from comprehensive public transport frameworks, rural areas often lack dedicated policies that cater to their specific needs. This policy gap, as highlighted by the SMARTA project and other studies, has left rural areas underfunded and underserved, worsening social isolation and economic decline. Current mobility policies, primarily designed for urban contexts, fail to account for the geographical and demographic characteristics of rural regions, further widening the urban-rural divide. Addressing the deficiencies in rural mobility, particularly in the context of climate change and evolving transportation demands, requires innovative solutions drawn from successful practices already implemented in other regions. Current policies, often outdated and fragmented, fail to adequately address the diverse and complex challenges faced by rural areas. This study aims to bridge these gaps by identifying, adapting, and scaling proven strategies to meet the unique socioeconomic, geographical, and cultural contexts of underserved rural regions. By fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration between regions, this research seeks to develop adaptive frameworks that prioritize sustainable, inclusive, and resilient mobility systems. Through the identification of challenges and effective methods in rural mobility, the study highlights critical gaps and opportunities in current transportation systems. This enables the creation of green, efficient, and inclusive solutions tailored to the specific needs of rural areas across Europe. Ultimately, the goal of this thesis is to offer practical guidelines to community leaders, transportation planners, and policymakers, empowering them to improve rural mobility systems. By promoting socioeconomic inclusion, sustainability, and accessibility, these recommendations aim to transform the transportation system of rural areas, fostering more equitable and resilient development. The methodology of this project consists of five main phases. The first phase employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative tools to address rural mobility challenges and identify innovative solutions. The qualitative aspect includes analyzing case studies, project reports, academic literature, and policy documents. Practical insights were gained through workshops such as “Rail to Land” and “Transport Planning” at MIC HUB, as well as presentations at conferences like the “Third International Conference on Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability”. Participation in programs like the “EIT Urban Mobility Summer School” and the “Transformer” program highlighted the importance of stakeholder collaboration, scenario-building, and community engagement. Grey literature from EU-funded projects like MAMBA and Inclusion provided replicable models, while projects like “Branding 4 Resilience” emphasized design's role in visualizing potential futures. The quantitative analysis utilized tools such as QGIS, Komoot, Moovit, and TomTom to evaluate transportation infrastructure, analyze mobility patterns, and identify service gaps. Geospatial analysis categorized road and railway types, and TomTom data analyzed private car trips in the Apennines, revealing public transport gaps and the need for flexible, on-demand transit services. The second phase involves a literature analysis and regional context review to identify challenges and opportunities in rural mobility, focusing on the Marche region. Insights were drawn from various sources, including EU-funded initiatives like MAMBA, to inform sustainable mobility practices. Using QGIS, the analysis categorized transportation infrastructure, assessed bicycle paths with Komoot, and evaluated public transport options with Moovit. Key findings indicated that over 60% of car trips were under 10 kilometers, suggesting opportunities for micromobility solutions. The study emphasized the need for flexible transit services and the integration of transport modes to reduce reliance on private vehicles in rural areas. The third phase involves professional engagement at MIC-HUB, a transport planning consultancy in Milan. This experience bridged theoretical research and practical application, focusing on rural mobility challenges. I participated in the "Transport Planning Workshop" at Politecnico di Milano, gaining skills in sustainable transport principles. I worked on projects analyzing public transport accessibility using QGIS and designing safer urban mobility strategies, such as 30 km/h zones. These hands-on experiences informed the study’s methodological framework and led to a conference paper on sustainable rural mobility, proposing actionable solutions to improve rural accessibility. In the fourth phase, we analyzed 24 selected good practices addressing rural mobility challenges, utilizing data from literature, policy documents, and pilot projects. These practices were chosen based on criteria such as relevance to the European context, sustainability, and their focus on sparsely populated or marginal areas. We mapped the practices across 13 EU countries to ensure diversity in geography and specific mobility challenges. A uniform analytical structure guided our evaluation, starting with an introduction to each practice's parent project, outlining objectives, funding mechanisms, and key partners. We examined implementation details, including key activities and outcomes, and included geospatial referencing for context. The analysis covered demographic information, urban-rural typology, and mobility challenges addressed, while highlighting innovative tools and methods. This structured approach revealed five key lines of innovation: technological, engagement and partnership, governance and management, transit pathways and connectivity, and social inclusivity. We also documented practical tools and methodologies for success and conducted a comparative assessment of top-down and bottom-up approaches, examining trends and opportunities for enhancing rural mobility. The findings aim to inform future strategies for improving mobility and accessibility in rural areas, promoting inclusive and sustainable solutions tailored to community needs. The final phase of this study develops comprehensive guidelines to promote sustainable mobility solutions in rural areas, structured around the five key innovation lines. These guidelines draw from successful rural transportation systems and emphasize collaboration between institutional bodies and local communities. Each section offers practical guidance for implementation, such as adopting real-time applications tailored to local needs. Overall, the guidelines include 54 actionable recommendations: 12 for technological innovation, 10 for engagement and partnerships, 10 for governance and management, 12 for transit pathways and connectivity, and 10 for social inclusivity. This toolkit aims to enhance the sustainability and functionality of rural mobility systems, addressing unique challenges while promoting inclusivity and efficiency. The findings of this study highlight several key outcomes with significant implications for rural mobility innovation. The diverse selection of good practices analyzed ensures that the results are applicable across various contexts, offering a broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities in rural transport systems. By systematically comparing these practices, the study identified recurring issues, critical trends, and innovative strategies that address the unique mobility challenges faced by rural areas. A comparative framework organizes the results from the analysis of good practices, presenting useful trends, gaps, and criticalities in a structured format. This framework provides a clear picture of the rural mobility system and its current advancements in specific fields, serving as a practical tool for stakeholders to evaluate and implement successful strategies tailored to their needs. The identification of recurring problems and effective solutions also lays the groundwork for advancing innovative practices in rural mobility. The main outcome of this study is a set of guidelines designed to improve mobility and accessibility in European rural areas. These guidelines not only reflect lessons learned from successful practices but also incorporate solutions that prioritize inclusivity and environmental sustainability. By focusing on these aspects, the study aligns its findings with the broader goals of ecological transition. Furthermore, the results underscore the importance of adaptability and innovation in addressing rural mobility challenges. The proposed strategies support policymakers, transportation planners, and community leaders in fostering socioeconomic inclusion and overcoming transportation poverty. Ultimately, this research contributes to bridging the urban-rural divide by enabling rural regions to adopt effective and sustainable mobility solutions, thereby improving quality of life and promoting sustainable development. Finally, to sum up this study analyzed 24 good practices from 13 European countries, showcasing successful IT strategies, innovations, and trends addressing rural mobility challenges. It highlights the critical role of innovation in adapting to societal changes driven by environmental concerns, socio-economic shifts, demographic changes, and technological advancements. The analysis identifies five central innovation lines: technological innovations, engagement and partnership, governance and management, transit pathways and connectivity, and social inclusivity. These domains form the foundation of effective rural mobility systems, ensuring adaptability and inclusiveness. Practices aligned with these lines are more impactful, while those lacking them struggle to address modern challenges. A deeper exploration into 20 subfields within these innovation lines reveals emerging trends and gaps, highlighting dominant and underutilized technologies and strategies. Examples like Germany’s "service-to-people accessibility" model and the repurposing of abandoned railway lines illustrate how tailored approaches can address local needs while promoting sustainability and inclusivity. The findings offer significant implications for future rural mobility strategies by synthesizing successful practices into actionable guidelines. This framework balances technological progress, social inclusivity, and environmental sustainability, providing a roadmap for enhancing rural mobility systems. The study contributes to academic and policy discussions and serves as a practical guide for stakeholders to implement sustainable and adaptive mobility solutions, improving the quality of life for rural populations across Europe and beyond. The potential future outlook of this work lies in the application of the proposed guidelines to support various innovative solutions in European rural areas. These guidelines could facilitate the reactivation of abandoned infrastructure, enhance slow mobility projects, and promote community engagement in the decision-making process. In this study, we present examples from the Marche region in the Central Apennines. One notable case is the abandoned railway line from Fabriano to Pergola, which currently operates only twice a year for tourists. We outline how specific guidelines can be applied to reactivate this railway line for broader and more sustainable use. Another example is the Ciclovia Alte Marche cycling track, where we suggest guidelines to further improve user experience and accessibility. Additionally, the guidelines can be employed to involve the community more effectively in decision-making processes. We provide recommendations on how to foster meaningful community participation, ensuring that their input shapes mobility projects and enhances their impact.