Under RURALIZATION WP4 – Foresight analysis we have just finished the analysis on trends that affect rural regeneration in Europe. This analysis pursues three main objectives:

1) To identify an extensive set of diverse trends that have a contribution to rural futures.

2) To carry out a general level assessment of their impacts on rural development in specific contexts.

3) To put a subset of the trends under more careful scrutiny based on their potential to promote rural regeneration in several contexts.

Three types of trends were identified: Megatrends, trends and weak signals.

• Megatrends refer to overarching mainstream that affects most regions and activities.
• Trends are related to developments that are effective in specific regions ad activities.
• Weak signals are symptoms of change in specific regions and activities.

1,560 total observations were observed and analysed to finally result in 10 megatrends, 20 trends and 30 weak signals. This analysis resulted in 60 trend cards that serve to identify effective practices and policies to promote rural regeneration in diverse contexts. The trend cards may be consulted at a dedicated website here.