LES CAHIERS N° 176 74 the RUHR METROPOLITAN REGION COMPRISES… 11 Independent Cities (Kreisfreie Städte) 53 Local Authorities 4 Counties ] (Kreise) 5.1 Million People

METAMORPHOSIS

CHANGING COURSE: LONG- TERM RUHR EXPERIENCES

Within a generation the Ruhr has gone through radical change. It has moved from a coal- and steel-based declining industrial region to a greener service and knowledge-oriented polycentric metropolis. This has had a profound impact on society and landscape.

This story is about how a group KIRCHNER/LAIF-REA MARTIN of independent cities addresses structural transformation with a y 1985, the decline of old industries within new vision, creative approaches the Ruhr region left behind 5,000 hectares and tailor-made cooperation B of often-contaminated brownﬁ eld land. A instruments. Many lessons are new thinking was needed to imagine the future and ﬁ nd sustainable solutions for these exten- here to be learnt. sive areas of post-industrial urban landscape. In the late 1980s, a new vision emerged to con- ******* sider the structural change in the economy and Michael Schwarze-Rodrian, Head of Division: society as a unique opportunity to deliver new European and regional Networks Ruhr sustainable urban and regional development. Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR) This approach sounds very familiar to us today, but it was completely unknown at the end of the 1980s. It answered both growing concern over the environment and an interest in preserving local heritage.

LES CAHIERS n° 176 74 THE RUHR METROPOLITAN REGION COMPRISES… 11 independent cities (kreisfreie Städte) 53 local authorities 4 counties ] (Kreise) 5.1 million people

REGENERATION STRATEGIES AND INSTRUMENTS The success of the IBA has led to the etablishment of many region-wide or tailor-made regeneration strategies and network activities, experimenting with different formats. • Ruhrtriennale. Annual high-end performing arts festival (since 2002) in the cathedrals of industrial heritage converted during IBA 1999, • CitiesRegion Ruhr 2030. The voluntary network of all planning administrations of the 11 big cities and the 4 counties in the region, • Concept Ruhr and Chance of Change. 41 cities and 4 counties supporting integrated development solutions, including the transformation of the last coal mines, • RUHR.2010. The regional performance of European Capital of Culture 2010, • InnovationCity Ruhr. A 10-year 50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, • RuhrKunstMuseen. The network of 20 art museums Street Food festival in the Duisburg North Landscape Park. in the region, • KlimaExpo.2022. A showroom for best practice THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING EXHIBITION climate solutions, (IBA 1999) EMSCHER PARK CATALYST • Green Infrastructure Ruhr. Integrating 5 ﬁ elds The strategy to revitalize the weaker parts of the of sustainability: cultural urban landscape, water Ruhr region is epitomized by the International in the city, green urbanism, low-emission bike Building Exhibition (IBA) at Emscher Park that mobility, climate protection and energy efﬁ ciency, was implemented between 1989 and 1999, under • International Garden Exhibition Ruhr 2027 (IGA 2027). the leadership of its inspiring director Karl Gan- Three future gardens on former industrial sites. ser. Sub-titled “Workshop for the Future of Old Industrial Regions”, this tailor-made, large-scale The relevance of these initiatives relies on key experiment of creative discussion, networking and recurring elements such as vision, openness and the stimulation of new solutions became the to innovations, competitions for best ideas, design blueprint for the development of the whole region. and solutions, leadership, networks, moderation, IBA projects became best practice projects in the transparency, cooperation, fairness and partnership. Ruhr region itself. In other words, what had been The Ruhr cities and the region have learned to serve done during IBA could be replicated later to other and to care for these key principles. ࡯

75 LES CAHIERS n° 176 THE RUHR: METROPOLITAN AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE PARK

canal Lippe Rhine

Dortmund Bochum Emscher Essen

Duisburg Ruhr

Wuppertal Düsseldorf 0 10 km Urban area Cycling route Industrial heritage site Emscher Landscape Park Emscher Park IBA site © L’INSTITUT PARIS REGION 2019 Source : Metropole Ruhr Major cities Other cycling network sites. The impulse of IBA was sustainable, wide- heap, are some examples of more than 100 pro- spread, and continues today. jects that have materialized one by one since Today, the sky over the Ruhr region is blue 1990. again, a campaign promise made in 1961 by Abandoned railroad tracks have been converted former chancellor candidate Willy Brandt that into a connected network of bicycle trails of was seen as highly unlikely at the time. Over the several hundred kilometers. The water of the years, air pollution has greatly diminished and Emscher river is becoming clear again after one contaminated soils have been mapped, cleaned hundred years of misuse as an open sewer. It will or encapsulated. Brownﬁ eld sites are now being be fully restored by the Emschergenossenschaft re-used by new and cleaner businesses, and as a liveable river system by 2022 at a total cost some have been converted into social and cul- of € 5.3 billion. tural facilities, historic landmarks or parks. The urban landscape has become greener and THE RUHR, A 40-YEAR LABORATORY OF CHANGE connected as symbolized by the internation- The Ruhr has been a laboratory of change for ally famous Emscher Landscape Park. Twenty over 40 years, its transformation forming an cities and the Regional Association Ruhr (RVR) important topic for regional and federal pol- are planning, designing, investing and develop- itics since the 1960s. The transition from old ing new urban landscapes in an area of 457 km². industry to a modern, knowledge-based metro- Unique parks on converted industrial sites have politan region has followed different strategies become landmarks for new thinking. Landscape and steps. It has included massive invest- Park Duisburg North, Ripshorst Treegarden in ments in universities, new technologies, train- Oberhausen, Zollverein Park in Essen, Inner Har- ing programs, and urban renewal initiatives. bor in Duisburg, WestPark in Bochum, Phoenix The change has been continuously supported in Dortmund, Nordstern Park in Gelsenkirchen, by public subsidies and funds from the state of and the Tetrahedron in Bottrop on a former slag North Rhine-Westphalia, the Federal Republic

LES CAHIERS n° 176 76 MICHAEL SCHWARZE-RODRIAN MICHAEL Change in the Region is based on the collective work of local elected ofﬁ cials. Here, mayors discuss the layout of a bicycle path. of Germany and the EU, as city budgets were too over the years can be characterized as a “soft small for these challenges. Several tailor-made landing”. public instruments, state programs, initiatives However, regeneration has not been a homog- and political strategies have been discussed, enous process. There are winners and los- developed, tested and implemented in the Ruhr ers. Not everyone has been able to change, get region. a new qualification or a new job. Long-term One practical lesson learned was about the nec- unemployment remains mainly concentrated essary time to redevelop sites: it takes thirty in poor neighborhoods and needs new answers. years to make old industrial sites and neighbor- As Germany’s last coal mines were closed in hoods into liveable and attractive places. December 2018, the redevelopment of the Ruhr region does not mean saying goodbye to the A COMPLEX AND OPEN PROCESS past. Rather, over the past thirty years, indus- BASED ON A POLITICAL CONSENSUS trial heritage has transformed into cultural roots The transformation of the whole region is still on and become the basis for new development. its way. It is a complex and open process incor- Today, former factories, steelworks, coalmines, porating all sectors of society, economy, culture, slag heaps and heavy industry train tracks are environment and daily life. It is directly linked anchor points on the Industrial Heritage Route to dynamic changes in Germany, in Europe and (RIK) stretching 400 km and attracting 7.3 mil- on the world market. The transformation of lion visitors in 2017. RIK became the lead pro- the Ruhr region is a success story because it is ject of ERIH – the network of European Routes based on regional realities and local conditions, of Industrial Heritage. the skills of people and the potentials of compa- The Ruhr people are proud of what they have nies, the partnership of cities and willingness to achieved, as is shown in the new international learn, to join and to design change. media campaign launched in 2017: “City of Cit- Strategic cooperation between cities has been ies – Metropolis Ruhr”. Still, the people and the a key element in the successful regeneration of cities stay humble and sometimes, even feel the region. The model and political consensus uncertain about their prospects... ࡯

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