This study explores how villages and rural areas in Germany can be shaped to become future-able in the sense of an eco-social transformation. It starts from the observation that scientific and political debates on transformation have so far focused predominantly on urban spaces, while rural regions – despite their central role in supply, production, and regeneration – have largely remained in the background. Yet, it is precisely these areas that face particular challenges and tasks of transformation in light of the widely acknowledged multiple crisis. 

The research project underlying this discussion paper,  “Futurable Village 2035”, therefore focused on developing a comprehensive and practice-oriented framework for transformative village development. Its aim was to identify desirable qualities and feasible practices of future-able village development that can serve as guiding principles for local actors while remaining relevant and applicable to political, planning, and scientific contexts. 

To this end, the project analyzed and interviewed local and regional transformation approaches and actors, described key fields of action, and examined the motivations, approaches, and practices of exemplary villages across Germany. The discussion paper summarizes these findings and offers both conceptual and practice-oriented insights and recommendations for actors from village practice, policy, planning, and research. In doing so, it contributes to the broader debate on the role of rural areas in eco-social transformation processes and opens perspectives for diverse, locally rooted regional development beyond growth.