“Tief im Westen” – Metropolitan region Ruhrgebiet: Germany’s Ruhr region, between coal and culture

GESIS takes the occasion of the first German Sociological Association (DGS)-Regional conference “Structural change of metropolises? Organization – Culture – Production,” held from September 28-30 in Bochum, to present a collection of information specific to the topic of the metropolitan region of Germany’s Ruhr region; the Ruhrgebiet.

Metropolises are intersections where people and markets congregate, and they are networking areas in which economic, cultural and social lines of development coalesce and connect. Change first expresses itself in metropoles; this is where the pressure to modernize and creative will meet one another most forcibly and productively.

The Ruhrgebiet, more precisely, the multi-center metropolitan region Ruhr, stands for a profound change from industrial heartland to a service and cultural region, which is preparing to be “European Capital of Culture 2010.” This economic realignment, the (own)dynamic of regional centers, the political negotiating of change, the forms of socio-spatial identity creation and even segregation make the Ruhrgebiet an experimental subject for metropolitan studies and research.

Literature references and descriptions of research projects are collected in six chapters. Predominantly papers offering empirical and theoretical overviews, or those focusing on the many facets of change can be found under the title “Structural Change and Regional Development.” Tightly controlled studies on the economic sector are summarized in the second chapter “Economy and Labor Market.” The third section focuses on demographic development and the particular effects through migratory movements. Milieus, lifestyles, social participation and cultural forms illuminate the fourth – “Segregation and Inequalities” – and fifth – “Culture, Identities, Lifestyles” – chapters from different perspectives. Historical works round out the sixth chapter.

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