„… dass wir gut 20 Jahre zu spät dran sind“: die digitale Transformation der sozialen Infrastruktur als Indikator für territorialen Anschluss in „left-behind places"
Building on debates on Left-behind Places, the Digital Divide, social infrastructure, and Smart Rurality, this paper examines to which extend digitalisation mitigates or reproduces perceived regional inequalities and so can be seen as a facet in the identification of left-behindness. Using the examp...
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| Autori principali: | , |
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| Natura: | Article (Journal) |
| Lingua: | tedesco |
| Pubblicazione: |
1 July 2026
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| In: |
Raumforschung und Raumordnung
Year: 2026, Volume: 84, Fascicolo: 4, Pages: 229-242 |
| ISSN: | 1869-4179 |
| DOI: | 10.14512/rur.3981 |
| Accesso online: | Resolving-System, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.14512/rur.3981 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://rur.oekom.de/index.php/rur/de/article/view/3981 
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| Note sull'autore: | Annika Heßmer, Susann Schäfer |
| Riassunto: | Building on debates on Left-behind Places, the Digital Divide, social infrastructure, and Smart Rurality, this paper examines to which extend digitalisation mitigates or reproduces perceived regional inequalities and so can be seen as a facet in the identification of left-behindness. Using the example of public schools in Thuringia, Germany, the authors analyse whether and to what extent government investments in digital infrastructures and the perceived level of digitalisation contribute to a convergence in perceived levels of territorial recognition. The empirical basis consists of 17 semi-structured interviews with school leaders across Thuringia, complemented by quantitative data from a statewide survey of all public schools. The findings reveal delayed and fragmented digitalisation trajectories in which schools, particularly in rural areas consistently experience themselves as deprioritised. Feelings of being “years too late” translate into perceptions of political marginality. This emotionality emerges from protracted equipment processes, fragile support structures, and selective prioritisation. We argue that digitalisation in public schools functions as a significant indicator of territorial recognition and can be understood as an institutional manifestation of such emotions, thereby making left-behind narratives empirically traceable. |
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| Descrizione fisica: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1869-4179 |
| DOI: | 10.14512/rur.3981 |