POLICY BRIEF (WG1 – 2025)
The right to stay, the right to move: Young people’s views on the future of im/mobility in rural areas
This policy brief examines young people’s views on the future of mobility and immobility in rural areas across four countries: Italy, Portugal, Sweden, and Türkiye. Between April and May 2025, one participatory workshop was conducted in each country, with 64 young people from Cremona in Italy (17 participants), Vila Real in Portugal (10 participants), Vindeln in Sweden (17 participants), and Eskişehir in Türkiye (20 participants). By considering future views on both mobility and immobility (i.e., henceforth im/mobility), our goal was to explore young people’s opportunities and capabilities to leave, stay in, and return to rural areas. Across the four contexts, participants envisioned a future where rural areas are more responsive to their diverse needs, aspirations, and identities, and where they have greater flexibility and agency. Both mobility and immobility were seen as part of a dynamic, self-directed process rather than a static state and as a social right that is often constrained by structural factors. Participants from Italy and Türkiye also emphasised the importance of gender dynamics, family ties, and traditional values, as these factors are likely to continue shaping im/mobility in the future. Based on the findings, three main implications and recommendations are discussed. Firstly, we propose a shift in how im/mobility is perceived and framed in research, policymaking, and community interventions. Im/mobility should be approached as a right and a self-directed continuum. Secondly, while specific policies targeting im/mobility are needed, these should focus on the structural barriers to im/mobility. This means that addressing im/mobility is impossible without considering other key issues, such as education and employment opportunities, housing conditions, and the cost-of-living crisis. Finally, facilitating a youth-based rights approach to rural im/mobility requires a concerted effort to create opportunities for rural youth to imagine and co-construct policies addressing issues relevant to them, such as im/mobility.
🖍️ Sign up for the Webinar presentation here (5th December 2025 – 11:00CET): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/SsABrSMERNO3Qn–NQXA1g
The right to stay, the right to move: Young people’s views on the future of im/mobility in rural areasAUTHORS
- Frida Jonsson, Department of Social Work, Umeå University, Sweden
- Adriano M. Ellena, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
- Fatma Handan Giray, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Türkiye
- Marta Rodrigues, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal
- Emre Erdogan, Istanbul Bilgi University, Türkiye
- Pinar Uyan Semerci, Istanbul Bilgi University, Türkiye
- Elena Marta, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
- Isabel Roque, Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
- Maria Fernandes-Jesus, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, United Kingdom
