Learning from the Ruhr Area in Germany

For decades, the Ruhr region was the industrial centre of Germany. Regional development was largely based on a resource-intensive and unsustainable economy. In view of the economic structural change and the need for ecological upgrading of the region, new approaches to sustainable land utilisation and reuse were tested in the Ruhr area. This also served the goal of developing the region as a competitive and attractive place to work and live.

The project is a research collaboration with Prof. Dr Libang Ma and Assoc. Prof. Dr Xiang Wang from Northwest Normal University in China.

The German team, led by Prof. Dr Anna Growe, will analyse key factors for the successful ecological remediation of brownfield sites. The case studies will mainly relate to the Ruhr area in Germany. Based on an analysis of economic structural change processes in Ruhr area cities and redevelopment models for urban brownfields, success factors for spatial planning issues and the design of governance processes will be summarised. On this basis, learning potentials for the transfer to Chinese former industrial regions will be discussed in a joint exchange with the Chinese project partners.