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ARSC/Resources/What Smart Village means
ARSC ACADEMIC LIBRARY · KNOWLEDGE HUB

What exactly
is a Smart Village?

Smart Village is not a scaled-down version of Smart City. It is a distinct concept, developed by the European Commission from 2017 onwards to address the specific challenges of rural areas: depopulation, ageing and a shortage of services. This page is ARSC's complete academic reference on the subject.

CONTENTS
  1. What villages and communes gain
  2. Official definition and origins
  3. Smart Village vs Smart City
  4. The 6 rural sub-verticals
  5. The European Smart Villages framework
  6. Smart Village in Romania
  7. International and Romanian examples
  8. Bibliography and sources
Smart Village
2,862 COMMUNES · 45% RURAL POPULATION · EU FRAMEWORK 2017

Smart Village is about modern, connected and viable rural communities.

CHAPTER 01

What rural communities gain.

Smart Village tackles challenges specific to rural areas: depopulation, ageing, a shortage of health and education services, and digital isolation. The concrete benefits differ from the urban ones.

👨‍🌾

For village residents

  • Access to health services: telemedicine that cuts trips to town by 40-60%
  • Lifelong learning: digital education for children and adults, without leaving the community
  • Digital connection: rural broadband that makes remote working possible
  • Public services: a digitalised city hall, with no need to visit the office
  • E-commerce: access to national markets for local products
  • Rural mobility: demand-responsive transport (DRT) replacing fixed routes
🏛

For city halls and local councils

  • Less depopulation: communities that are more attractive to young people and families
  • Administrative efficiency: automation that allows management with fewer staff
  • Access to funding: specific Smart Village programmes (LEADER, CAP, EAFRD)
  • Data for decisions: real measurements of the community's needs
  • Visibility: coverage in national media, association with the EU agenda
  • Attracting investment: agritourism, precision farming, rural businesses
🌾

For the rural economy

  • Precision farming: yields up 15-25% through data and automation
  • Short supply chains: direct sales, from producers to urban consumers
  • Connected agritourism: digital promotion and online bookings
  • Smart cooperatives: digital coordination of small producers
  • Renewable energy: solar, biogas, energy communities
  • Access to credit: FinTech tools adapted to rural areas
🌳

For the environment and sustainability

  • Biodiversity conservation: digital monitoring of local ecosystems
  • Water management: smart systems for irrigation and household use
  • Less food waste: digital coordination between producers and consumers
  • Energy transition: rural energy communities using renewable sources
  • Climate adaptation: early warnings, resilient agriculture
  • Emergency resilience: communication systems that work in isolation
CHAPTER 02

Official definition and origins.

The Smart Village concept was officially defined by the European Commission in "EU Action for Smart Villages" (2017) and later in the "Smart Villages Action Plan" (2018). These are the core references.

ARSC WORKING DEFINITION
A smart village is a rural community that uses digital technology, innovation and partnerships between the administration, the private sector and civil society to find concrete answers to its own challenges (depopulation, isolation, a shortage of services) and to raise its residents' quality of life.
Romanian Smart City Association, 2026
EUROPEAN COMMISSION - EU ACTION FOR SMART VILLAGES (2017)
"Smart Villages are communities in rural areas that use innovative solutions to improve their resilience, building on local strengths and new opportunities. They rely on a participatory approach to develop and implement strategies to improve their economic, social and environmental conditions, in particular by mobilising solutions offered by digital technologies."
European Commission, 2017
SMART VILLAGES ACTION PLAN (2018)
"Smart Villages are a new approach to rural development that puts the community at the centre. The answers start from the concrete needs of villages, not from the availability of technology."
European Network for Rural Development (ENRD), 2018
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT - RESOLUTION 2018/2009
"A smart village is a rural community that uses innovative solutions based on local strengths and opportunities to secure sustainable development and improve its residents' quality of life."
European Parliament, Resolution 2017/2086 INI
OECD - RURAL DIGITAL HUBS
"Smart Villages are rural communities able to identify and implement opportunities to improve their economic, social and environmental performance, using digital technologies as tools, not as an end in themselves."
OECD Rural Studies, 2020
HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF THE CONCEPT

Timeline

  • 2017: the European Commission publishes "EU Action for Smart Villages", the first official document
  • 2018: the "Smart Villages Action Plan" is launched at European level
  • 2019: the first dedicated European network appears, the ENRD Thematic Group on Smart Villages
  • 2020: the concept enters the 2023-2027 Common Agricultural Policy
  • 2022: launch of the "Long-term Vision for the EU's Rural Areas - Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040"
  • 2023: LEADER programmes explicitly include Smart Village objectives in 23 member states
CHAPTER 03

Smart Village
vs Smart City.

There is a tendency, a mistaken one, to see Smart Village as a scaled-down copy of Smart City. In reality they are different concepts, with their own logic, tools and solutions. The comparison below sets out the main differences.

Aspect
Smart City
Smart Village
Main challenge
Urban concentration · traffic · pollution · pressure on services
Depopulation · ageing · isolation · shortage of services
Population density
>1,000 inhabitants/km²: solutions for congestion
<100 inhabitants/km²: solutions for distance
Type of digital solutions
Optimisation, dense networks, extensive infrastructure
Remote connection, telemedicine, rural broadband
Investment logic
Fast ROI at large scale (hundreds of thousands of users)
Social ROI, hard to quantify in economic terms
Typical budget
€10 million to €100 million for major projects
€100,000 to €5 million for major rural projects
EU framework
Smart Cities Marketplace · Horizon Europe Cluster 5
Smart Villages Action Plan · LEADER · CAP 2023-2027
Main verticals
Mobility, Governance, Living, Economy, Environment, Citizen
Connectivity, Social services, Agriculture, Tourism, Energy, Community
CHAPTER 04

The six Smart Village
sub-verticals.

Unlike Smart City, which uses the general ITU/ISO framework, Smart Village has its own structure, developed by the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD): six thematic sub-verticals with specific tools.

01

Digital connectivity

The most important foundation of any Smart Village strategy. Without broadband, the other digital solutions do not work.

Main sub-fields

  • Ultra-fast rural broadband (above 100 Mbps symmetrical)
  • 4G/5G coverage in isolated rural areas
  • Public Wi-Fi in community spaces
  • Satellite connectivity solutions (Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb)
  • Digital skills centres (local digital hubs)
  • Closing the digital gap for older people

EU frameworks

Gigabit Society 2025 · Connected Communities · DESI Connectivity

02

Social services and health

Access on a par with urban areas, through telemedicine solutions and the digitalisation of rural social services.

Main sub-fields

  • Telemedicine and telecare: remote consultations
  • Home health monitoring (older people)
  • e-Education: rural schooling connected to the city
  • Digitalised social services
  • Remote assistance for vulnerable people
  • Community living labs

EU frameworks

Digital Health Europe · EU Care Strategy · Rural Health Hubs

03

Precision farming

Using sensors, drones, AI and GIS to raise agricultural yields and reduce the use of resources: water, fertilisers, energy.

Main sub-fields

  • Soil sensors: moisture, pH, nutrient content
  • Agricultural drones: mapping, crop monitoring
  • Connected local weather stations
  • Smart irrigation systems
  • Livestock tracking (GPS, RFID)
  • Digital cooperative platforms

Key acronyms

PA · IoT · GIS · NDVI · UAV · ICT4Ag · DataSmart Farming

04

Connected rural tourism

Digital promotion of rural destinations, online bookings and immersive experiences, to turn tourism into a local economic engine.

Main sub-fields

  • Digital promotion of destinations (social media, video)
  • Direct booking platforms (without OTAs)
  • Immersive experiences (AR, VR, 360° tours)
  • Digitalised tourist trails
  • Digital labelling of local products
  • Online host communities

EU frameworks

Smart Tourism EU · Tourism Transition Pathway · DG GROW

05

Energy and sustainability

Rural energy communities: local production of renewable energy, efficient distribution, energy self-sufficiency.

Main sub-fields

  • Energy communities (REC - Renewable Energy Communities)
  • Communal solar panels for public buildings
  • Biogas from agricultural waste
  • Small-scale hydropower
  • Energy efficiency in rural buildings
  • EV charging stations for rural tourism

EU frameworks

RED III · Clean Energy for EU Islands · Energy Communities

06

Digital community and inclusion

Digital inclusion of every group of citizens (older people, children, vulnerable people) to avoid a new "digital divide".

Main sub-fields

  • Digital skills courses for all ages
  • Rural civic platforms
  • Participatory budgeting in communes
  • Local swap and circular economy platforms
  • Digital cooperatives
  • Volunteering and local solidarity

EU frameworks

DigComp · Skills Agenda · European Care Strategy · Pact for Skills

CHAPTER 05

The European
Smart Villages framework.

EU policies for rural areas form a framework that is not an alternative to Smart City: it is a parallel, complementary system, with different funding, tools and objectives.

CAP 2023-2027

Common Agricultural Policy

The EU's largest funding programme for rural areas: more than €387 billion for 2023-2027. It explicitly includes Smart Village objectives.

 LEADER · CLLD

LEADER · Community-Led Local Development

The European programme through which rural communities (Local Action Groups, LAGs) receive funds directly.

 ENRD

European Network for Rural Development

The EU's official rural development network, home to the Thematic Group on Smart Villages.

 VISION 2040

Long-term Vision for EU Rural Areas

The EU's long-term strategy for rural areas: towards connected, resilient and prosperous rural communities.

 ERDF

European Regional Development Fund

Funds rural infrastructure: broadband, roads, digitalisation of local public services.

 FEADR / EAFRD

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development

Funds concrete projects in communes: precision farming, agritourism, energy communities.
CHAPTER 06

Smart Village in Romania.

Romania has one of the largest rural populations in the EU: more than 45% of the population lives in villages. Smart Village is therefore a subject with a major impact on the quality of life of millions of Romanians.

2,862Communes
(local authority reference)
45%Rural share of
Romania's population
42Counties covered
in the ARSC database
7Operational
fields

ARSC documents Smart City and Smart Village projects in a single database on map.arsc.ro (in Romanian): 1,720 projects in total from all 42 level II administrative units (41 counties + the Municipality of Bucharest), across seven fields: Mobility, Digitalisation, Energy, Environment, Health, Education, Security. To find projects specific to rural areas, the map offers filters by local authority type (commune) and by FUA (Functional Urban Area).

How to find rural projects in the ARSC database

ARSC does not yet publish a curated list of "Smart Village pilot communes". To explore concrete rural projects, use the filters on map.arsc.ro: select the county, then the category (Digitalisation, Energy, Environment) and read the descriptions.

🗺️

Explore all projects

A complete list you can filter by category, status, county and free-text search.

 🏘️

Functional Urban Areas

The 41 main FUAs + the communes with commuting of 15% or more that are eligible for 2021-2027 funds.

 📖

The ARSC methodology

How the database is built and which official sources (PNRR, MySMIS, SEAP, MDLPA) are used.
CHAPTER 07

International reference examples.

European communes that have become reference points for Smart Village, each with a clear specialisation. Documented, replicable models cited in the academic literature.

🇮🇪

Westport · Ireland

Digital tourism hub

Europe's first "Digital Town". Integrated digital promotion, direct bookings, telemedicine for older people.

🇪🇸

Ansó · Spain

100% renewable energy

A Pyrenean commune that is fully energy self-sufficient: solar, small-scale hydro, a smart system.

🇩🇪

Digitale Dörfer · Germany

Fraunhofer IESE pilot

The "Digitale Dörfer" programme in Rhineland-Palatinate: communes testing digital solutions for local services, deliveries and communication.

🇫🇮

Kainuu · Finland

Rural telemedicine

A northern Finnish region with a dispersed population: a regional pilot for telemedicine and remote consultations, often cited in EU literature.

🇮🇹

Cuneo · Italy

Agritech & winemaking

A digital cooperative for wine producers: precision farming, direct sales, digital labelling.

🇸🇪

Östersund · Sweden

Smart cooperative

Digital cooperatives for small farms. Logistics coordination, deliveries to nearby towns, fair prices.

🇦🇹

Wagrain · Austria

Smart mountain village

A combination of tourism, agriculture and renewable energy. A single app for all the commune's services.

🇵🇹

Penela · Portugal

Smart living lab

A living lab dedicated to solutions for active ageing. IoT sensors for home monitoring.

CHAPTER 08

Bibliography and sources.

The essential references for in-depth reading on Smart Village: official EU documents, academic studies and funding programmes. All checked, citable and available online.

Official EU documents

Programmes and networks

Academic studies

  • Cowie, P., Townsend, L., Salemink, K. (2020). Smart rural futures: Will rural areas be left behind in the 4th industrial revolution? Journal of Rural Studies.
  • Visvizi, A., Lytras, M.D. (2018). It's not a fad: Smart cities and smart villages research in European and global contexts. Sustainability.
  • OECD (2020). Rural Well-being: Geography of Opportunities. OECD Rural Studies.
  • Naldi, L., Nilsson, P., Westlund, H., Wixe, S. (2015). What is smart rural development? Journal of Rural Studies.
  • European Network for Rural Development (2018). Smart Villages: Revitalising rural services through social and digital innovation. ENRD Publication.

Romanian sources

Smart Village in the Romanian context.

For city halls and local councils that want to develop a Smart Village strategy for their community: book a conversation with the ARSC team. Together we will identify the right funding programmes.

Book a conversation →Main domains →

The Smart City Romania network run by ARSC

Everything you want to know about the fastest-growing industry in Romania. The sites below are in Romanian.

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