From nondescript residential areas to the most important industrial region and finally to a location for (industrial) culture with a full quality of life – the Ruhr Region has definitely seen some changes.
For “Ruhris,’’ as local people are known, it’s almost a question of honor not to rest on their laurels, but to develop their region, fondly nicknamed the “Pott,’’ even further as a modern and attractive place to live.
Urban life is blossoming right now in the region’s big cities, but by no means just there.
A showcase for the urban reconstruction of the Ruhr Region is the Duisburg inner harbor.
This once unsightly industrial wasteland of 89 hectares is now a successful mix of modern architecture and industrial culture.
It houses the whole gamut of urban life with office and residential properties, popular museums, gastronomy and leisure attractions – and naturally all that attracts visitors from outer areas.
The success of this new city district has triggered lots of similar developments in the Ruhr Region.
For example, one of Germany’s biggest innovation locations is developing on the former Phoenix blast furnace and steelworks grounds, just a few km from Dortmund inner harbor in the Hörde city district.
Arising over an area the size of 300 soccer fields is a location for micro and nanotechnologies, software developers, homes and green recreational areas, including a reservoir and Phoenix Park.
The Krupp industrial belt in Essen between Altendorf and the city center in the center of the Ruhr Region is even bigger at 230 hectares.
Since 2010, the ThyssenKrupp district has arisen on the grounds of the former Krupp cast steel works.
Its imposing headquarters is a collection of glass and steel buildings around a rectangular expanse of water.
West of this, the Krupp-Park helps to ensure a healthy city climate and the Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard is an ideal access point.
In addition, attractive residential areas are being developed in this new city quarter, among other projects.
An urban space of a special kind is currently emerging in Bochum in the Viktoria Quartier between the Schauspielhaus, Bermuda Triangle night-life area and the Marienkirche.
The conversion of Marienkirche into an events venue and above all the new Symphonie building has given the district a musical impulse.
So wherever you look, change is in the air in the Ruhr Region and transformation is and will remain the only constant into this multifaceted area.
