Betterment Without Airs: Social, Cultural, and Political Consequences of De-Industrialization in the Ruhr
IRSH 47 (2002), pp. 87–111 DOI: 10.1017/S0020859002000792 # 2002 Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis Betterment without Airs: Social, Cultural, and Political Consequences of De-industrialization in the Ruhr Stefan Goch At one time, the region of the Ruhr1 was one of the most important areas for coal, iron, and steel production in Europe. This is no longer the case. The once abundant production of coal and steel found in this region is steadily dwindling, and what remains of the industry can fairly be considered antiquated.2 On the whole, the region has already undergone economic structural change, although some problems connected with it still need to be resolved. A few abandoned industrial areas need to be redeveloped and not all economic structures in the region are trend- setting; there are deficits in the infrastructure, such as in the transportation system; and the level of unemployment is clearly above the average of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and of the Land North Rhine- Westphalia (NRW). In light of the degree to which industrial jobs have been lost, the region has survived structural change better than other old industrial regions, albeit with an obvious variation in the rate of success within the region. Iron and steel regions like that of the Ruhr also once exhibited distinct 1. The Ruhr region is understood here to be the area of the Kommunalverbandes Ruhrgebiet [hereafter, KVR: Communal Association of the Ruhr]. This includes the district cities of Bochum, Bottrop, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Hamm, Herne, Mu¨ lheim an der Ruhr, Oberhausen and the districts Ennepe-Ruhr, Recklinghausen, Unna and Wesel.
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