SUMMARY
This issue of *La Santé en action* No. 472, coordinated by Emmanuelle Hamel, brings together some forty contributions from academics, elected officials, and practitioners in the field.
The special issue draws primarily on territorial classification tools that can be used for analysis: the municipal density grid (INSEE, 2020) and the ANCT typology distinguishing four categories of rural areas (1/ affluent and mixed-use residential rural areas, 2/ small industrial-artisanal and mixed-use hubs, 3/ productive rural areas with industrial and agricultural workforces, 4/ tourism-oriented rural areas that are predominantly residential and specialized), as well as a centrality map (ANCT/INRAE) classifying 10,700 centers of amenities and services according to their level of provision.
Several engineering and funding programs are also detailed:
- Villages of the Future (2024, 120 project managers for municipalities with fewer than 3,500 residents)
- Small Towns of Tomorrow (2020, led by the ANCT, with an evaluation report on land use and housing)
- The Green Fund for Sustainable Mobility in Rural Areas (370 projects funded by the end of 2024)
- Regional Food Projects (PAT, 450 identified)
- Rural Educational Territories (TER, €30,000 annual grant)
Finally, the report also presents theHealth Impact Assessment (HIA) tool, used in urban redevelopment projects (Morlaàs, Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur), the mobile “Médicobus” program, and a local network of “fitness ambassadors” structured around a charter, an interactive map, and institutional partnerships (Carsat, MSA, CPTS).
Keywords: local food, community ambassadors, rural planning, regional attractiveness, territorial cohesion, population density, spatial differentiation, socio-spatial disparities, image of the countryside, project engineering, healthcare provision, rural public policy, proximity, quality of life, revitalization, rural characteristics, local services, territorial typology, demographic aging
Illustration: © Santé Publique France
