Smart Village Concept: What are the Crucial Categories of Elements?

Over the past few decades, villages have faced significant challenges, such as depopulation, that have hindered their development. To address these issues, the concept of a Smart Village has emerged as a potential solution for rural development. The present article aims to investigate the essential categories of elements that comprise this concept by conducting an international literature review in multiple languages, including Polish, English, Spanish, Italian, French, and German. The article begins with an introduction that discusses the current challenges facing rural development, followed by a detailed analysis of various aspects of the Smart Village concept. Additionally, the article presents case studies from different countries to illustrate how the concept has been implemented in practice. Finally, the article employs inductive reasoning based on the previous literature review to identify four fundamental categories of elements that underpin the Smart Village concept.