Questions and Issues about Local Development in the New Lander: Living Conditions in Rural Areas

How to ensure basic services in rural areas where the population is ageing & decreasing? What effects do new population patterns & socioeconomic changes have on peripheral areas in the new German states? What political issues are at stake? The theory of "central places," which has been used to analyze & manage access to services, is unsatisfactory. A case study of the small Prignitz area draws attention to the flexibility & inventiveness of local initiatives for coping with the drawbacks of isolation & distance. It is necessary to pay more attention to local actors' ability to react. Demographic ageing & the requisite services provide an opportunity for studying this problem from a geographical dimension. Depending on the type of "space," the question of services for the elderly arises in radically different terms; & political issues change. To find solutions, close attention must be paid to the territorial, social & behavioral dimensions of these differences. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.