Pre-conference session

Rural–urban partnerships can foster integration that drives stronger economic development, more efficient public service delivery, and economies of scale in infrastructure and governance. Strengthening rural–urban linkages enhance territorial cohesion, supports more adaptive governance, and reinforces regional performance. Both urban and rural resilience depend on shared water systems and collaborative management of catchments to reduce the risks of drought, floods, and contamination, while protecting ecosystems. This session will explore how integrated approaches—aligning economic, social, environmental, and governance dimensions—can improve water security and regional performance. Speakers will share experiences in managing shared resources, diversifying rural economies, and coordinating across levels of government to advance sustainable and resilient development.

Food is a powerful rural and urban connection. The rise of food hubs, farmers’ markets, and regional branding and tourism strategies centred on food highlights the importance of these connections. Local food systems link rural production to urban consumption through short value chains, public procurement, and direct marketing. Supporting food systems at the correct geographic scale helps to strengthen economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Innovative place-based initiatives that bridge agricultural, rural, and urban strategies—such as “farm to fork” models and circular economy approaches—are key to fostering sustainable food systems that support small farms, engage vulnerable groups and enhance food security. This session explores how food systems connect rural and urban areas and how integrated food policies can promote sustainable local economies.

Forests contribute significantly to rural economies through the production of timber, non-timber products, tourism, and carbon sequestration. Balancing economic use with ecosystem protection is critical for long-term sustainability and resilience. A forest-based bioeconomy can drive rural and regional revitalisation by creating green jobs, supporting local enterprises, and retaining population in rural areas. It leverages the complete forest value chain—from sustainable management to processing—to deliver bioenergy, wood for construction, textiles, chemicals, packaging, and food ingredients. The rising demand for renewable, forest-based materials is opening up new markets, from long-lived wood construction to bioplastics, which replace fossil-based inputs and help advance climate goals. Successful development requires coherent policy frameworks connecting forestry, rural development, innovation, and industrial transformation. This session will examine how OECD countries are leveraging the forest bioeconomy to foster sustainable growth

Exploring new ways to measure rural–urban connections in OECD countries focuses on developing multidimensional indicators and refining typologies to capture the complexity of these relationships. Rural–urban connections extend beyond municipal or regional borders. Effective measurement must go beyond physical proximity to include flows of people, goods, services, capital, and knowledge. It should also incorporate measures of digital connectivity, labour mobility, investment networks, and environmental linkages. Functional approaches—based on commuting patterns, service flows, and supply chains—provide insights into the dynamics between different areas. . Measuring how rural–urban linkages influence well-being outcomes, such as jobs, housing, access to services, and environmental quality, reveals the interdependencies and spillovers that drive regional development. This session will explore nuanced, dynamic, and functional measurements, using emerging data sources and targeted typologies, to accurately understand and strengthen rural–urban connections.

Harnessing AI and rural–urban connections to foster rural innovation is gaining growing attention. AI can enable innovation, research, and expertise from urban-based universities, research centres, and businesses to flow more effectively to rural actors. Policies should promote rural–urban partnerships, technology clusters, and networks—both formal and informal—that support the uptake of AI and collaborative projects in sectors such as agriculture, food, logistics, and rural health. Encouraging policies that link rural innovation policies with urban investment strategies, including smart specialisation, place-based incentives, and shared innovation infrastructure. At the same time, proactive measures are needed to ensure the transformative benefits of AI—productivity gains, improved public services, and labour-shortage relief—extend to rural areas. Ensuring high-quality digital infrastructure remains fundamental, as weak connectivity limits deployment and widens divides. This session examines how AI can serve as a catalyst for rural innovation and inclusion, highlighting the role of rural–urban linkages in disseminating technology, skills, and data infrastructure.

Rural entrepreneurs, start-ups, and SMEs are vital for job creation and diversification but often face limited access to finance, skills, and markets. Connecting rural businesses to urban investment and innovation networks expands access to capital, knowledge, and markets while stimulating collaboration in different sectors including agri-tech, green energy, and creative industries. Integrating rural and urban resources—from skills and advanced services to local products—enables regions to leverage complementary strengths and foster diversified growth. University–industry partnerships, trade facilitation, and collaborative R&D projects also provide effective pathways for rural entrepreneurs to absorb innovation and build capacity. Building investment pipelines that reach rural entrepreneurs is crucial to balancing opportunities and reducing dependency on grants or subsidies. This session examines how stronger rural–urban linkages can help scale up innovative ideas, diversify rural economies, and enhance the rural SME ecosystem.

This session examines how metropolitan governance can foster a sustainable blue economy through the integrated management of ocean, water and land as shared common goods. It highlights the need for municipalities to collaborate across boundaries, aligning policies and capacities to address interconnected environmental and economic challenges. The session explores how to strengthen rural-urban linkages and develop business models that connect land- and water-based economies, such as circular aquaculture, eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture. The session provides examples for improving coordination, innovation and accountability, promoting a governance approach that treats natural systems as interdependent assets essential to a resilient and inclusive blue economy.

Green Rio Summit (Marina da Glória-Rio de Janeiro) organised by Green Rio. OECD Rural Development Conference participants attend by special invitation.

Parque Estadual da Serra da Tiririca - Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, Oceanographic Vessel Prof. Luiz Carlos - Visit to Guanabara Bay, or Parque Orla de Piratininga Alfredo Sirkis - Filtering Garden.