ABSTRACT
In Austria, rural spaces in particular – not only in villages in remote areas but also in market towns and in peri-urban regions – are facing urgent challenges in spatial planning and in housing policies. Mainstream planning and housing policies are not successful in providing suitable and affordable housing and in maintaining the infrastructures of everyday life (Ellegast and Karlsson 2010; Jarvis 2011), such as the care infrastructure, shops and services and mobility provision (Demochange 2011, 2012, 2013).
