DIGITAL TOOLS FOR RESILIENT REMOTE REGIONS: ONLINE SERVICES, REMOTE WORK AND SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The article examines how digital tools, particularly remote work arrangements and online public services, can support the resilience and sustainable development of remote rural regions facing depopulation, ageing and declining access to essential services. The aim of the paper is to examine how digital tools, in particular remote work and online public services, can support the resilience and sustainable development of remote rural regions, and under what conditions they are most effective. Drawing on a scoping review of recent international literature on remote work, digitalisation of services, rural resilience and smart adaptation strategies, the paper organises the evidence into three interrelated strands: 1) remote work and rural coworking, 2) digital delivery of key services such as healthcare, administration and education, and 3) broader place-based governance approaches to shrinkage. The findings suggest that digital tools can enhance quality of life and indirectly support population retention, but only under specific conditions, including high-quality connectivity, inclusive digital skills, adequate local and multi-level governance capacity, and alignment between digital solutions, transport and physical service networks. The article concludes that digitalisation offers important but conditional opportunities for remote regions and should be treated as part of integrated, people-centred adaptation strategies rather than as a stand-alone response to rural depopulation.