Access to basic healthcare services poses a significant challenge for sparsely populated rural areas within the European Union, impacting fundamental principles such as territorial equity. This challenge is intensified by current demographic trends, including depopulation and ageing, which affect both the availability of healthcare professionals and the increased demand for efficient healthcare services for the older population. To address this issue, the present study adopts a methodological approach that uses distance and transport time to measure the accessibility of different rural municipalities to healthcare facilities. This study focuses on the Autonomous Region of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) as a representative territory for the abovementioned demographic dynamics. The main results indicate a clear relationship between negative demographic indicators and poorer healthcare access, especially in rural areas with limited transportation infrastructure. Access to primary healthcare is generally well distributed, with >90 % of rural population living within 15 min of a basic healthcare facility, while hospitals are less accessible for the rural population, with >40 % of the sample needing 30 min to reach one. The sample is also highly sensitive to the population density and ageing rates. As a significant contribution, a universal methodology is presented that can be applied to other rural territories with a significant ageing population, enabling territorial planning policies to optimize quality healthcare in line with the active ageing policies promoted by the United Nations.

This paper focuses on the spatial influence of High-Speed Rail stations, based on the notion of catchment area. Given the features of High-Speed Rail, its operations can and must serve a role beyond the station and the city in which it is located. Using a spatial systemic approach, this paper proposes a method to analyse the factors that may affect the size and shape of the catchment areas according to the relationship between distance and ridership. This study employs data from surveys of six stations of the Spanish high-speed rail system to apply the model and demonstrates that the context is crucial for regional use. The outcome also proves that other relevant factors should be considered in addition to the network to extend the use of highspeed services and increase its profits, which is a potential approach for future research.

Agriculture is an important economic activity across much of the Western world. Beyond its productive purpose, we can also identify a cultural function that is expressed in the existence of a rich heritage associated with the interactions between nature and humans over time. This heritage includes tangible and intangible assets, the latter including traditional knowledge, history, knowledge of natural cycles, and the identification of the local population with its landscapes; in short, resources are understood as a legacy that needs to be reappraised and passed on to future generations. Saffron cultivation is an example of an agricultural landscape with significant intangible heritage values associated with the know-how and the family-run nature of the farms. The resources linked to saffron cultivation in the region of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) are described in this paper, with an emphasis on how local communities perceive them as an integral part of their geographical identity. The results, following in-depth interviews with different local actors, demonstrate the potential for the intangible values associated with saffron to drive local development in many rural areas once they have been reappraised and classified as assets for attracting tourism.