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Gelsenkirchen C-Change City Profile Gelsenkirchen City of Gelsenkirchen, by Armin Hardes UNDERSTANDING THE CITY • At the heart of the Ruhr metropolis, one of Europe’s largest conurbations • An independent city administration in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, member of the Regionalverband Ruhr, the regional association of the 53 cities of the Ruhr metropolis • Once the most important coal-mining town in Europe, known as the ‘city of a thousand flames’ • Target of heavy bombing during World War II • A wealthy city until the 1960s and the decline of the coal industry • A population of 5,000 people in 1840 when coal-mining began which, following a long history of immigration, reached 389,000 in 1960, decreased to 256,000 in 2012, and is now increasing, in particular due to immigration from EU member states and refugee settlement • Transformation in natural and built environment and industrial and cultural landscape as a result of a major federal programme of structural change for the Ruhr region 1988-1999 • “Solar City”, one of Germany’s leading centres for solar technology from about 1995-2015 • Part of the Ruhr 2010 European Capital of Culture 2010, a key moment in the city and the region’s journey from an economy based on coal to a culturally creative and economically varied region • A relatively poor city, dealing with the legacy of a ban on universities in the region until the 1960s, and the lack of a strong middle class and facing issues in the areas of education, employment and immigration • City strategy is focused on education, high-tech industries, culture and creativity, digitalisation, European networking, sustainable development and climate change • Football plays a big part in the city, which is home to the famous Schalke 04 football club. UNEMPLOYMENT POPULATION AREA 15.2% 265,000 105 km2 vs. national average of 7% (2018 data) GDP LOCATION €28,890 Ruhr metropolis per inhabitant vs. national total population of 5.3 million, average of €38,370 (2016) once the industrial heart of Europe 1 Stadt Gelsenkirchen N.N., Gussstahlwerk CULTURE IN THE CITY Culture and creativity play a key role in both the city and its shift from • KreativQuartier Ückendorf, a former residential for coal mining and a coal-based industrial past. This started with the IBA major federal steel workers, transformed into a home for science, start-ups, culture, programme of structural change 1988-1999. It was followed by a cultural art and well-being, and; offensive in the newly created cultural and heritage areas, led by Kultur • Kuenstlersiedling (artist settlement) Halfmannsdorf, first established Ruhr GmbH and comprising Ruhrtriennale (contemporary multi-arts in the 1920s as a living and working space for artists, artisans and festival), ChorWerk Ruhr (song), Tanzlandschaft Ruhr (dance), and architects and now a space for art and culture, co- working and Urbane Künste Ruhr (urban art) – in which Gelsenkirchen is closely residencies, connected with other creative and cultural spaces in involved. Then came Ruhr2010, when 53 cities came together as Europe and a digital lab for new creative and artistic work. European Capital of Culture with Gelsenkirchen playing a key role in many of the associated projects. Since then, the city works closely with As a relatively poor city in economic terms, Gelsenkirchen is the european centre for the creative economy (ecce) created as a legacy nonetheless faced with a lack of ‘cultural purchasing power’ and of Ruhr 2010, as well as with the n.i.c.e. network for innovation in culture patronage for the arts and culture. and creativity in Europe. Gelsenkirchen’s cultural offering began to grow in the 1960s and today includes musical theatre, a youth theatre, a cultural centre, municipal culture facts music school, a wide range of jazz and music clubs, a history museum located in a renaissance castle, an art museum and the Schalke 04 • Home to i.a. a renowned music-theatre in a famous building with the “Blue CULTURE FACTS football museum. walls” of Yves Klein, an arts museum, a major collection of cinematic art, a range of festivals such as KulturKanal, Rock Hard, the Klezmer biennale It is also home to a range of festivals such as KulturKanal, and the puppet/marionette biennale festival SommerSound, Rock Hard, the Klezmer biennale, the puppet/marionette • Industrial heritage plays a central role in the city’s and the region’s biennale and annual story-telling-festival. The independent cultural cultural life, including sites such as the Nordsternpark and Zollverein Coal scene is less developed, but this is changing. Regionally, the Zollverein Mine Industrial Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site Coal Mine Industrial Complex (just across the city boundary) has • One of 53 cities which came together for Ruhr2010 European Capital of been transformed into a prime site for art, culture and creativity. As Culture a UNESCO World Heritage Site it attracts over two million visitors a • Involved in the 4 programmes run by Kultur Ruhr GmbH - Ruhrtriennale year through events such as the Zechenfest (Coal Mine Festival), the (contemporary multi-arts festival), ChorWerk Ruhr (song), Tanzlandschaft Contemporary Art Ruhr fair and events of the Ruhrtriennale. Ruhr (dance) and Urbane Künste Ruhr (urban art) • Home to a range of regeneration projects for cultural quarters and the Gelsenkirchen also has a range of regeneration projects led by the Halfmannsdorf artist settlement, a space for art and culture, co-working city’s regeneration company and also linked to ecce’s Creative Quarters and residencies, connected with other creative and cultural spaces in programme. Key projects with a cultural and creative focus are: Europe and a lab for new creative and artistic work in the city 2 • A budget of €28 million a year for culture or €105 per inhabitant CLIMATE CHANGE & THE CITY FACTS Once the heart of coal-mining in Europe, Gelsenkirchen was one of Germany’s leading centres for solar technology for about 20 years from the mid- 1990s. The creation of Science Park Gelsenkirchen in 1995, with one of the • 1,997,430 tonnes CO2 emissions in 2014 / 7.72 tonnes CO2 per largest solar photovoltaic rooftops in Germany at the time, was one of the inhabitant first key steps in this journey. Some of the jobs created under its Solar City • Target of a 25% emissions reduction 2008-2020 programme are, however, now being lost as China establishes itself as a • 13.1% emissions reduction achieved 2008-2014 – 284,360 global leader on solar technology. While the city is already experiencing the tonnes CO2 impacts of climate change – notably flooding due to heavy rain and health • Signatory to Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy problems due to heatwaves – older generations in particular have actually • One of the first German cities to sign up to the UN’s perceived an improvement in environmental conditions following the decline Sustainable Development Goals of the coal industry. • Three-time winner of the European Energy Award for cities and local authorities The city first introduced a climate change strategy in 2009 and is currently working to a target of a 25% emissions reduction by 2020 against a 2008 Key initiatives include: baseline, in line with the targets of the Climate Alliance network targets and • KlimaGEnial, the city’s well-established climate change North Rhine-Westphalia. Gelsenkirchen is currently implementing its awareness-raising campaign focusing on energy saving and 2018-2020 climate change strategy. The most successful initiatives to date sustainable transport have been on renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transport. • City council buildings’ electricity supply is 100% renewable The city is also developing a 2030-2050 strategy with the ambition of carbon • Various projects on energy-efficient urban redevelopment e.g. neutrality by 2050. Citizen engagement is one of the biggest challenges InnovationCity for the city, which is seeing a certain level of ‘climate fatigue’ amongst its • Rollout urban district Gelsenkirchen-Rotthausen, and low citizens. carbon quality housing developments • Various campaigns for owners, landlords and tenants on the Gelsenkirchen is also part of the region’s journey to become a ‘climate use of renewable energy for electricity and heating metropolis’ under Klimametropole Ruhr 2022, following on from its • Environmental Education e.g. UmweltDiplom, a programme development as a cultural metropolis. Klimametropole Ruhr 2022 was which supports and recognises carbon literacy in schools and founded in 2012, after Ruhr2010, to bring the region together once for young people again to work on one key theme. Klimametropole Ruhr 2022 is one regional • Networking in the Region: e.g. KlimaChallenge Ruhr, an partner of the North-Rhine-Westphalian initiative KlimaExpo.NRW. Led by the initiative of the Ruhr Regional Association (RVR) programme Regionalverband Ruhr, klimametropole Ruhr 2022 covers a number of strands which aims to activate and mobilise civil society in 2019 to including culture. Initiatives include Climate Week 2016 (264 events and take climate action, with grant funding of up to €50,000 70,000 visitors) and the TWINS Conference Ruhr -Cities in Climate Change, 3 held as part of Essen’s year as European Green Capital 2017 at the Zollverein. EXAMPLES of arts and culture sector climate action and engagement in the city • Gelsenkirchen’s municipal cultural buildings already have a range of good practice on renewable energy and energy efficiency in place. • On a regional level, Urbane
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