Although the relevance of urban-rural interrelations is widely acknowledged in science and practice, there is as yet no feasible theoretical or theory-driven approach or model that addresses the multiple interconnections in urban-rural spaces at the regional level and makes them applicable to actors in policy and planning practice. In this chapter, we give a short overview of how the topic has developed; present core concepts for urban-rural interrelations; and discuss their applicability and potential improvements by integrating other concepts and connecting governance debates. In the process, we develop new ideas for the analysis and governance of regional functional interrelations in a bid to improve sustainable land management. Keywords Urban-rural interrelations • Land management • Telecoupling • Regional governance A. Doernberg (B) Working Group "Land Use Decisions in the Spatial and System Context",