Abstract
Structurally weak rural areas constitute a spatial category of land-use planning in Germany. This category designates rural areas with low density, marked by the recessive processes of depopulation, structural aging and socio-economic abandonment. It establishes a territorial discrimination that guides public intervention. These are formulated in terms of supporting innovation through the application of the principles and practices of local development. These are formulated in terms of supporting innovation through dissemination of the principles and practices of local development. The paper firstly specifies the various criteria mobilized for the construction of the spatial category. It then examines the content of public policy and how to design the integration of the structurally weak rural areas. Finally, it reconsiders the East-West dichotomy that marks the country since the reunification in 1990 to highlight the diversity of local contexts compared with established categories.