Research project Mitigating the rural–urban political divide through public transport investment The project argues that, by offering access to employment, specialized healthcare, education, and expanded social networks, public transportation networks can alleviate feelings of marginalization and thereby mitigate the growing rural-urban political divide. Print Share: Share on Facebook Share on BlueSky Share on X Share on LinkedIn Send by email This project has received funding via the EUI Research Council call 2026. The rural-urban political divide is a key challenge for European democracies. While prior studies highlight the role of local economic decline and public service deprivation, this project introduces a novel perspective, focusing on regional connectivity. It argues that public transport connections can mitigate political discontent in peripheral areas by maintaining access to economic opportunities and social networks in urban hubs. Leveraging highly granular UK transport data (2005 –2025) and a staggered difference-in-differences approach, the project examines how reductions in public transport services affect political behaviour. Public transport investment may simultaneously address two key challenges: climate change and the rural-urban political cleavage.