An Example of Post-Industrial Rebirth

Germany's Ruhr region, a former coal and steel powerhouse that fell into decline, has shown major improvements in recent years, offering hope for other post-industrial cities.

1 minute read

October 12, 2010, 8:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


Neal Peirce reports on the region and how it managed to rebound.

"[T]oday this same Ruhr area is breathing fresh with high culture and popular art. Amazingly, it won coveted recognition by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers as a "European Capital of Culture" for 2010.

Indeed, where blast furnaces did their polluting work and molten iron once flowed, a stunning array of artists of all genres have been performing this year. Many of their stages have been the massive settings of the very mining and steel plants of yesteryear, a juxtaposition of today's human talent with yesterday's towering gaunt forms of raw industrial power."

Sunday, October 10, 2010 in Citiwire

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