Abstract
Ageing society, lack of skilled workforce, changes in work life careers and changes in partner and family models, a shift in societal roles of women and men, young and old, migration flows from rural to urban, multiple residences and new forms of housing and the related spatial impacts are in focus of demographic change. It is obvious that demographic change is not to be managed without gender and equality issues. Spatial planning has a crucial role in facing these challenges as spatial planning laws demand to ensure equal access to housing, services and labour markets and to organize transparent and inclusive decision making procedures. The paper explores key concepts, methods and selected case studies from Europe on gender planning trying to focus on the potential for innovating planning discipline and tackling with demographic change issues in rural areas. Cases from Bavaria and Austria compared to rural regions in Eastern Germany with high female emigration show concrete planning approaches.