How does community evolve in rural areas? The volume brings different perspectives on the social proximity of village, island and region in the German-Dutch border area into discussion. The focus is on civil society and socio-spatial structures that shape social cohesion: Civic engagement, community organising initiatives or the prevention of group-based misanthropy reveal fractures, but also new approaches to cohesion. The German-Dutch perspective unites the joint search for resources for successful change in rural areas.