Restructuring an Old Industrial District
Emscher Park
Ruhr District, Germany

But all the projects were carried out by existing authorities — agencies of the North Rhine-Westphalia government, con­stituent city governments, companies, or community based organizations. All in­vestments, upon IBA approval, came through existing aid programs. They feared having a new pot of money would lead to previously unfinanceable projects being “dumped” on the IBA.

Collaborative Governance

The IBA itself was a subsidiary of the state gov­ernment. But the directors of the exhibi­tion were mainly academics. A high-level board of trustees was expected to “pro­mote” and “support” the exhibition. Pro­ject decisions and approvals, however, were made by a steering committee composed of members of state depart­ments, and representatives of member towns, industry, trade unions, and from conservation, planning and architecture associations.

The “big picture” strategy behind the exhibition was to anticipate long-term social and technological changes, determine future infrastructure needs connected with those changes, and make sure state and local government used the power necessary to make things happen.

One of the crucial decisions was to aim toward diversification in industrial sectors with higher technology and higher value added products. Given the abundance of cheap sites and existing infrastructure, it would have been easy to develop low net output enterprises. But this kind of “bottom-feeding” strategy wouldn’t provide the means to transform the old industrial landscape in the way they in­tended.

Industrial Heritage Tourism

Later on, the IBA turned its attention to developing tourism around the network of historic industrial attractions and new recreational amenities the exhibition has been developing. They have a sophisticated web-site that documents an extensive indus­trial culture tourism route.

At the expiration of its term, the Inter­na­tional Building Exhibition was closed. The staff moved on to other assignments. A “placeholder” organization called Project Ruhr Ltd. was created. A public debate was conducted over whether the Ruhr District should have an “organization for innovation” like the IBA.

“Half said ‘we want to continue.’ The other half said ‘let’s go back to the standards of the 80s,’” said Michael Schwarze-Rodrian, an IBA staff member working for the Kommunalverband. On May 14, 2000 the Social Democrat-Green alliance that promoted the IBA was voted out of office. But public support and the record of accomplishment of the IBA was sufficient to convince the new government to let Project Ruhr Ltd. continue the work.

For all of this progress, the Ruhr District has a long way to go. Unemployment in the region still runs to 17 percent or higher. In March 2000, still another Ruhr coal mine was scheduled to close, idling an additional 6,000 workers in one fell swoop. But the landscape, institutionally as well as physically, has been changed.

“Ten years ago we only had visions and papers and so on,” Schwarze-Rodrian said. Now there is a tangible record of achievement: “You can climb up on things.”

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