Vom Modernisierungsvehikel zur Überflüssigkeit? Soziale Infrastrukturen in ländlichen Räumen zwischen Leerfallen und Neuaneignung

Small towns and vilages with structural economic problems and population decline are faced with "obsolete" infrastructures from the post-war period of top-down modernization. Among others, these include local community centres and public schools. Often faced with a long-term process of vacancy or under-utilization, these buildings deteriorate but still stay part of the daily life experience of the local population. Based upon three conceptual approaches (governance of shrinkage, obsolescence in the sense of real estate economics, and actor-centred accounts of a "good" life) and secondary analyses of two exploratory studies in shrinking regions in Germany, the paper presents and discusses different strategic options of local actors to come to terms with formerly meaningful social infrastructures: conscious vacancy (let rest), reuse (reappropriation), and preservation through adaption.