Small-Town Renaissance

Can digital innovation revitalize rural communities and preserve cultural heritage at the same time?

This book dives into the transformative power of digitization in rural regions where technology isn t just a tool, but a lifeline for local culture, economic resilience, and future development. Born from a unique research collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Politecnico di Milano, supported by the Roberto Rocca Foundation and MIT Italy, this book brings together cutting-edge data-driven scholarly work on shrinking towns, economic development, and digital innovation.

Together with local authorities, small business owners, and community leaders in Sicily and Lombardy, the project tackled some of the most pressing challenges facing rural Italy from population decline to economic stagnation all through the lens of digital transformation. But this story isn t just about Italy. Similar struggles play out in rural communities across Japan, Korea, Spain, the United States, Germany, and beyond.

Amid the global acceleration of digital technologies sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, this volume offers a bold roadmap for blending innovation with tradition, proposing smart platforms to amplify local voices, promote heritage-based economies, and design collaborative workspaces that anchor rural resilience.

Whether you re a policymaker, urban planner, designer, tech innovator, or heritage advocate, this book offers fresh insights, actionable strategies, and a compelling vision for the future of rural development in the digital age.

Small Towns, Big Visions: Technology and Heritage in Small-Town Planning. - Heritage and Mobile Radio: A data-driven approach to address cultural heritage valorization. - A Digital Platform for Italian Small Businesses. - Revitalize Centuripe: A data toolkit to help identify buildings across the occupancy spectrum. - A Sport & Heritage Corridor for the Valtellina Olympics. - New Geographies of Work: South Working to retain and attract human capital. - Digital Valtellina: A regional plan to revitalize Italy s inner areas through remote work. - The Smart Terrace Trail as Strategic Regional Project. - Stakeholder Perspectives for Regenerating Inner Territories. - Small Town Renaissance: A global need, not a local dream.