Our Fields of Activity in Summary

Monitoring, indicators, regional analyses

In order to put discussions about rural areas and their development on a sound empirical basis, differentiated data is needed. Our monitoring of rural areas compiles such data for Germany and makes it available to interested parties from science, politics and society.

Basic service provision

Whether doctor's office, grocery stores or broadband: basic services are indispensable for everyday life. New solutions are needed to adapt services to changing needs and to maintain service provision even as resources become more limited.

Social structure and social inclusion

More than half of the population residing in Germany lives in rural areas. Who are these people and how do they live? How do social, economic and demographic changes affect their living conditions and how do they shape them?

Settlement development and spatial mobility

Demographic and social change, increasing land use for settlements and transport, as well as changing patterns of residential and everyday mobility are key factors for the development of villages and of small and medium-sized rural towns.

Governance and civic engagement

For decades, rural areas have been undergoing structural change, which is associated with a variety of challenges for the people who live there. How can politics, administration and civil society meet these challenges and positively shape local living conditions?

Land use and protection of natural resources

Rural areas are characterised, among others, by the way land is used. We explore how these areas are used, by whom and in what way, what effects this has on natural resources and how uses can be changed and shaped.