At university, I became more involved with regions. In the beginning, it was the debates about project-oriented regional development, regional development concepts and regional management. Later, the focus was on the effects of demographic change and securing the provision of basic needs. Expert reports and expert commissions added the topics of "good life for elderly" and "social commitment“. The focus has always been on the special conditions of rural, mostly sparsely populated regions and regionally adapted solutions. Here, again, there are the long lines. Working relationships and their results that continue to have an impact today: The 2002 Management Guide to Cooperative Regional Development, which made it all the way to development policy in Africa. The position paper 77 of the Academy for Spatial Research and Planning (ARL) on policy for peripheral rural areas from 2008, the result of a nationwide working group that I had the privilege of chairing. And the results of the working group "Knowledge Society in Rural Areas," which broadened my view of rural areas.

Schmidt, Elfriede, Johann Kaether, Peter Dehne, Hermann Behrens. Managementleitfaden für kooperative Regionalentwicklung. Hrsg. Umweltbundesamt (Berlin 2002). Download

Englisch copy: Schmidt, Elfriede, Johann Kaether, Peter Dehne, Hermann Behrens. Management Guide for Regional Co-operation. Hrsg. Umweltbundesamt (Berlin 2002). Download

Dehne, Peter et al. (2008): Policy for peripheral, rural areas: for an independent and self-responsible regional development. ARL Position Paper 77. Hannover. Download

Stein, Axel; Wiegand, Timm Sebastian; Dehne, Peter et al. (2016): Knowledge society as a challenge for rural-peripheral regions Examples from Northeast Germany. ARL research reports 6. Hannover. Download