If the population discovers the village

Many of our municipalities fall short of what they could be: a community of people who together create a better quality of life for all locally. This book shows how this value-oriented local development can be tackled. The inspiration for the experiences described in the book was the Upper Austrian municipality of Steinbach an der Steyr. After an economic and social collapse, Karl Sieghartsleitner, who was elected mayor in 1986, succeeded in instilling new hope for value-oriented village development in the frustrated residents of the village. This led to the emergence of a vibrant village community from the ruins of the village, which resulted in Steinbach being awarded the European Village Renewal Prize in 1994. Sieghartsleitner says in retrospect: "Value-oriented local development is not a luxury project for idealists, but the optimal use of human and financial resources to achieve a better quality of life for all." A church history and theological section shows how central values for local development can be justified, what the church has contributed to the development of our communities in the past, and how it could become an important source of inspiration for value-oriented local developments today.