Rural Strategies for Coping with the Spatial Unevenness in the Knowledge Society

Knowledge has long been a motor for societal development. However, the way knowledge is produced, distributed and applied has changed considerably and is regionally differentiated. In this paper, it is argued that different types of spatial profiles are discernable at the broader, national level: (i) Prominent hubs emerge, influenced by the knowledge society. (ii) The knowledge society expands to rural areas, being located between metropolitan regions, forming corridors of development. (iii) Regions with a knowledge society deficit, which might be perceived as a sort of “novel periphery”, remain. Drawing on examples from Germany, this paper examines rural regions which can be seen to fit with these profiles, revealing how planning paradigms change in the knowledge society and how spatially sensitive stakeholders can and do use knowledge as a strategic resource.