Rural and sparsely populated regions often lag behind urban areas in terms of socio-economic and infrastructural development. Urban centres typically concentrate public services, economic opportunities, healthcare, education, and cultural institutions, whereas rural areas often experience limited access to these resources. Even foundational public services, such as public transportation or postal delivery, often operate at lower levels of frequency, reliability, and coverage in rural regions compared to cities. As a result, residents of rural areas may experience reduced convenience, fewer opportunities for social participation, and greater difficulty accessing goods and services that are routinely available in urban environments. These disparities raise concerns about social inclusion, equal opportunities, and spatial inequality.

At a fundamental level, these disparities and inequalities arise from the distinct spatial and demographic structures that characterize urban and rural regions. In rural areas, low spatial density undermines the economic viability of the provision of both goods and services, due to sparse and distributed demand.

Public transport plays a pivotal role in mitigating spatial effects and providing access to amenities for rural citizens. In this context, new transport models are evaluated, such as demand-responsive transportation, mobility as a service, shared mobility concepts or new technologies such as drones. The impact of those approaches typically gets assessed through simulations. However, these simulations are either very abstract or done on a model that does not necessarily represent the spatial structures of a certain region. Hence, the need arises for models of regions that cover their distinct structures and characteristics realistically.

Therefore, the objective of this thesis will be to evaluate (and implement) approaches on how to create realistic models of rural regions from open data (e.g., OpenStreetMap, DELFI, …). Possible approaches for this thesis include both a literature review and a thesis incorporating a practical implementation.

You are also welcome to propose your own ideas in the provided context of (public) transportation in rural regions.