From 1 euro houses to new start-ups: initiatives in the field to save small villages from depopulation

The Region of Sardinia has decided to invest a lot of resources to enhance the villages and reverse this trend. It is no coincidence that EUR 360 million have been earmarked for the three-year period 2022-2025. An overall sum that provides non-repayable support for those who go to live in municipalities with less than 3 thousand inhabitants or for those who decide to open a business.

That's not all, since the Region itself recently approved a provision for the granting of contributions for each newborn, adopted or entrusted child in favour of families who reside or decide to transfer their residence to municipalities with a population of less than 5,000 inhabitants.The intervention programme provides, starting this year, for the transfer of resources to the municipalities in two tranches of equal amounts. The disbursement will take place after a check of the latest Istat data on the number of children residing in small towns as of 1 January 2025. 'We are relying heavily on this measure to stem the phenomenon of depopulation in the island's small towns,' says Armando Bartolazzi, Regional Councillor for Health. This is why we have decided to guarantee the maximum amount available for each eligible child up to the fifth year of age: we are talking about EUR 600 per month for the first child born up to the fourth year of age and EUR 400 for each subsequent child'.

In the race to save villages and small towns, start-ups have also sprung up, not least because, in the meantime, many habits have changed as a result of Covid.

The start-up Kino brings digital nomad communities to Basilicata. On the path to 'safeguarding villages', there are also municipalities that support new residents. This is the case of the municipality of Valforte, an Apulian village in the province of Foggia, where those who move to the village nestled in the Dauni mountains and open a business are granted a 5,000 euro non-repayable bonus. Similar initiatives are also registered in the small municipalities of Emilia Romagna, as well as in Tuscany and Molise, where an incentive of EUR 700 per month is provided on condition of moving to a municipality in the region with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants.

Spain is also facing the phenomenon of rural depopulation. More than 4,000 municipalities are at risk of desertification. After the Revuelta de la España vaciada protests in 2019, the issue came to the centre of the national agenda. A National Strategy against the demographic challenge has been approved, with measures ranging from tax incentives and bonuses for house renovation to subsidies for rural start-ups, incentivised jobs (such as shepherds or steeple keepers), to coworking networks and fibre to attract digital workers.

But not only that. In Spain, art has become a lever of regeneration. Projects such as 'Pueblos en ARTE' use artistic language to revitalise almost uninhabited villages. Workshops, artistic residences and cultural spaces have sprung up in forgotten places, becoming social presidia and engines of tourist and creative attraction. Networks of rural women artists such as MAR in the Monegros also organise festivals and workshops to give visibility to the women who live and create in inland areas.

In France, the worst affected areas are in the so-called 'diagonal of the void', a strip running from the north-east to the south-west of the country, including regions such as Burgundy, Hauts-de-France and the Massif Central. The problems? Declining public services, closure of local shops, difficult access to transport.

In 2024, the government passed the 'France Ruralité Revitalisation' law, part of the national plan for the revitalisation of inland areas. The package includes tax incentives for companies and freelancers, funds for environmental protection, and investments in rural public transport. The 'Villages du futur' project involves 2,458 municipalities that will receive technical and engineering support to modernise infrastructure and attract new residents.

Although the demographic results have yet to be verified, according to the mayors involved, the quality of life in French villages has improved significantly, making these areas more attractive.

*This article is part of the European collaborative journalism project "Pulse"