The Rhenish Coal-Mining Area—Assessing the Transformational Talents and Challenges of a Region in Fundamental Structural Change

Abstract

This paper addresses the extensive structural changes of the Rhenish coal-mining area in Germany. Coal mining was and still is a relevant economic activity throughout Europe and is the focus of many political and societal debates, as well as research activities in the Rhenish coal-mining area. The project DAZWISCHEN followed the concept of evidence-based planning and therefore identified, by means of a GIS-based analysis, the structural changes within the Rhenish coal-mining area for the conflicting thematic clusters for settlement development and open space. Moreover, we investigated the complex multi-level governance that the region is characterized by. The results suggest an increased pressure on blue and green infrastructure by new urban development, especially in the northern part of the Rhenish coal-mining area. On the other hand, the southern part of the Rhenish coal-mining area will be more likely to undergo a process towards an increase in green infrastructure. Thus, the future development of the whole area is segregated in two different development trends in the north and south parts. The complex governance structure in the Rhenish coal-mining area requires an in-depth view of the ongoing working processes in the development of ideas and visions for regional mission statements of different planning areas, levels, and network partners in a real-life laboratory.