Revitalizing rural areas: A review of vivacity indicators and the potential of generative AI in rural development analysis

Abstract

Over the past several decades, rural areas in Spain and the European Union have experienced progressive population decline that has fostered negative discourse and generated a loss of interest among the population, exacerbating these issues. Therefore, it is essential to promote a new and optimistic narrative that highlights the potential of rural areas and its present and future development possibilities to provide a positive image of rural territories. This concept, which we have termed ’vivacity’, reflects the level of opportunities for inhabitants to achieve a sustainable future that encourages their settlement in rural areas and the development of their lives without location-related difficulties. This study aims to identify the most suitable rural development indicators for measuring the vivacity of rural territories. Therefore, a qualitative analysis of the literature on rural development indicators was conducted, and the potential of a generative artificial intelligence tool (ChatGPT 4) is examined to assist researchers in conducting such analysis. The study’s findings indicate that economic and social wellbeing indicators are relevant to the dynamism or vivacity of rural territories. Furthermore, ChatGPT currently does not meet the standards of human analysts although it can facilitate directed analysis with close scrutiny of the results.