AGING POPULATION IN CHANGE – A CRUCIAL
CHALLENGE FOR STRUCTURALLY WEAK RURAL
AREAS IN AUSTRIA
Tatjana Fischer1
Received 15 November 2012; Accepted 12 April 2013
Abstract: Besides population decline, structurally weak rural areas in Austria face a new
challenge related to demographic change: the increasing heterogeneity of their aging
population. From the example of the so-called ‘best agers’ – comprising people aged
55 to 65 years – this contribution makes visible patterns and consequences of
growing individualized spatial behaviour and spatial perception. Furthermore,
contradictions between claims, wishes and expectations and actual engagement and
commitment to their residential rural municipalities are being pointed out. These
empirically-based facts are rounded off by considerations on the best agers’ future
migration-behaviour and the challenges for spatial planning at the municipal level.
Key words: rural aging in change, spatial planning, challenges
Kurzfassung: Neben der Schrumpfung der Bevölkerung müssen sich ländliche Räume in
Österreich einer weiteren Herausforderung des demographischen Wandels stellen:
der Heterogenisierung der älteren Landbevölkerung hinsichtlich deren Ansprüche
und Wünsche an ihre Wohnumgebung. Dieser Beitrag zeigt am Beispiel der sog.
best ager, d. h. Personen im Alter von 55 bis 65 Jahren, und belegt durch aktuelles
empirisches Datenmaterial deren zunehmende Individualisierung in Hinblick auf
Raumverhalten, Raumwahrnehmung und Beitrag zur sozialen Kohäsion sowie zur
Gemeindeentwicklung auf. Inhaltlich abgerundet wird der Artikel von Überlegungen
zum zukünftigen Abwanderungs- und Bleibeverhalten der heute jungen SeniorInnen
und den daraus resultierenden Herausforderungen für die Raumplanung auf
kommunaler Ebene.
Schlagwörter: ältere Landbevölkerung im Wandel, Herausforderungen für die Raumplanung
1. Introduction
Demographic change is a slow process that causes structural shifts of the age structure of
a population. These quantitative shifts often lead to aging and population decline in structurally
weak areas in the long run. Besides this, qualitative – still invisible – changes within the older
generation of high relevance for spatial planning in rural areas take place: heterogeneity and
singularization. In all situations where small population and heterogeneity of primary dwellers
1 Mag. Dr. Tatjana Fischer, Institute for Spatial Planning and Rural Development, University of Natural Resources
and Life Sciences Vienna; Peter-Jordan-Straße 82, 1190 Wien, phone 43 1 47654 5368; e-mail:
tatjana.fischer@boku.ac.at
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overlap, it becomes unsure, how sustainable municipal or rather regional planning – seen as
securing quality of life for all population groups – could be carried out.
In this context, it has to be stressed that spatial planning is a cross-sectional public task that
must not only focus on favoured sub-groups within the population of a defined territory. Its main
task is to offer preventive and solution-oriented approaches to maintain quality of life for all
stakeholders within the population based on the paradigms of equivalence and equal
opportunities in the area of conflict between spatial organisation and spatial development.
From a spatial point of view, (future) challenges structurally weak rural municipalities have to
face (e. g. the stabilisation of the amount of primary dwellers among the older generation,
matching various needs and desires of an aging population in change against the background
of declining financial opportunities), (may) result from specifics of spatial behaviour, spatial
perception, social inclusion and political participation.