Between Local Identity and Transnational Networks: The Ruhr

Transcription

1 Check Against Delivery. Embargoed until 1:45 PM, 6 November 2010 Between Local Identity and Transnational Networks: The Ruhr by Einhard Schmidt-Kallert TU Dortmund University, Germany Session 11, Workshop 11.2: Industrial Legacy: Asset or Burden in Global Competition? Our Common Future, Essen, November 6th, 2010 Our Common Future, Hannover/Essen, 2-6 November 2010 (

2 Between Local Identity and Transnational Networks: The Ruhr Our Common Future, Session Metropolis, Workshop 11.2 Industrial Legacy: Asset or Burden in Global Competition Technische Universität Dortmund Fakultät Raumplanung

3 Introduction Two strands of workshops this afternoon: urbanisation in poverty in the Global South The legacy of metropolitan urban areas in industrialised countries => potentials for future development Some key questions from the other workshop are also relevant for our topic, e.g. the dichotomy exclusion versus inclusion Note: personal bias 3

4 Five Propositions Proposition 1: The Ruhr is a distinctly different variant of the European city Proposition 2: Urban traditions in the Ruhr are discontinuous and interrupted by fault lines Proposition 3: The Ruhr as a melting pot of migrants reality or myth? Proposition 4: Re-thinking the metropolis from the village Proposition 5: Transnational spaces are part of economic and social reality 4

5 Proposition 1 The Ruhr is a distinctly different variant of the European city 5

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8 The Ruhr is a distinctly different variant of the European city Global discourse on urbanisation in the last 20 years: Dichotomy European versus North American city European city emerged since the middle ages, origin emancipation of urban society from feudalism and the rural hinterland Convergence of physical and social structure: all citizens identify with the urban core as their social centre Transformed over the centuries, but even through the industrialisation period => less segregation and polarisation Strong planning system and sense of identity North American city: polarised since WW 1 and exodus of middle class from the urban core 8

9 The Ruhr is a distinctly different variant of the European city Medieval urban cores, but less significant fur urban development than elsewhere Urban development was shaped by the geology, 19th century technologies (steam engine), the alignment of the main railway line, the canal, the northward migration of the mining industry Typical mix of big industry and labour lines, transport routes, for a long time the chaotic mix of uses, as often portrayed in the first half of the 20th century Landmarks, if any, the gasometers, the water towers and furnaces 9

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11 The Ruhr is a distinctly different variant of the European city Identity? Attachment to the suburb, the quarter, not to the city or the region (the metropolis), at times the soot, the smell of sulphor Up to the 50s a region of village like settlements, main mode of transport: bicycle and tramway Planners notion of the Ruhr, after decades of de-industrialisation and transformation: a multi-polar conurbation, a metropolis characterised by polycentrality But I doubt that this notion falls in line with the people s perceptions of their region 11

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13 Proposition 2 Urban traditions in the Ruhr are discontinuous and interrupted by fault lines 13

14 Urban traditions in the Ruhr are discontinuous and interrupted by fault lines The view from my office window: the church spires of medieval Dortmund, a last and solitary blast furnace, the soccer stadium and the University of Technology a disconnected and fragmented cityscape To be sure: all European cities have lived through phases, whose remnants can be traced in present day urban form But in the Ruhr the fault lines are more prominent. Leitbilder, development visions have been abruptly changed in the past and especially in the last few decades: Up to the 60s big industry, hard manual work, big organisations, spatial proximity and density, little middle class culture From the 60s modernisation, a new type of mobility with car and motorways, shopping centres, universities, satellite towns Post modernity: Transformation to a service based society, IBA- Emscherpark, the second wave of structural change 14

15 15 Prof. Dr. Einhard Schmidt- Kallert

16 Urban traditions in the Ruhr are discontinuous and interrupted by fault lines The discourse on new Leitbilder/ planning visions points into two competing, at times also parallel directions: The attempt of Ruhr cities to artificially introduce urban landmarks in the tradition of the European city, which in the past had never existed in this region like opera houses, museums, philharmonic concert halls The conservation of the region s industrial heritage, the conservation of the impressive monuments of the bygone industrial age in a way the conversion of the region into a big staged theme park or a mix of both 16

17 Proposition 3 The Ruhr as a melting pot of migrants reality or myth? 17

18 The Ruhr as a melting pot of migrants reality or myth? Wilhelm Brepohl s classical book title der Aufbau des Ruhrvolkes im Zuge seiner Ost-West Wanderung narrated the migration history of the Ruhr as a success story: Impoverished landless farmers and agricultural workers from Prussia s eastern provinces were lured to the coal mines, initially housed under appalling conditions, but later managed to move up the social ladder Mainstream literature described for a long time the assimilation of the Polish migrants as a remarkable success story Recent research shows: long periods of moving between the Ruhr and the places of origin, stories of frequent job changes, dismissals and failed assimilation and integration; the importance of the dense network of Polish organisations as indispensable support 18

19 The Ruhr as a melting pot of migrants reality or myth? Success story only in hindsight, for those who stayed Similar processes among the post-war waves of migrants Despite the migration history of the majority of the Ruhr population, in most cases newly arrived migrants in the 60s, 70s and later did not find their German environment more hospitable than migrants in other parts of the country (It would appear the melting pot myth cannot be mobilised as a positive asset) Faint memories of the migration history: All grandmothers hail from East Prussia 19

20 Proposition 4 Re-thinking the metropolis from the village 20

21 Re-thinking the metropolis from the village What is the core of the Ruhr metropolis. Or if we assume polycentrality: What are the characteristics of the urban centres in the Ruhr? Are there icons, buildings or structures with a symbolic value, with which all citizens identify? Even today a large proportion of the region s population does not identify with the centres, but rather with the fringes, the areas inbetween the centres 50 years ago, coal mines and steel mills had such a function for the working class people, the middle class did not matter that much Today: less shared perception of space and of the urban core. Instead: multiple action spaces, overlapping. The analyst might be able to discern interesting overlays Action spaces of Turks, Russian Germans, Lebanese migrants etc. 21

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24 Proposition 5 Transnational spaces as part of economic and social reality 24

25 Transnational spaces as part of economic and social reality In terms of social interaction spaces the Ruhr has no clearcut boundaries. Sauerland, Münsterland and Lower Rhine are closely interconnected with the Ruhr. As mentioned, migration is seldom uni-directional. This is true of the interaction spaces created by the migrants of the 1960s and 1970s as well. Obviously this interaction space extends to Southern Italy and Eastern Turkey. And beyond: transnational action spaces of migrant groups extend to the Philippines or to Ghana. Spatial effects of the activities of ethnic diasporas resident in the Ruhr can be ascertained in Ghanaian villages for example, both in the field of house construction and starting productive enterprises. 25

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27 Conclusion Still largely parochial in its identity I have my doubts whether the glossy magazines, books and presentations produced for the event of the European Capital of Culture are reflected in the people s minds and their genuine identities The Ruhr a fragmented cityscape with multiple fault lines 27

28 Conclusion There is need for a renewed discourse on Leitbilder / development visions beyond new landmarks either in the format of concert halls or a theme park of industrial archaeology This discourse must encompass the representatives of all social and ethnic groups who have made their home in the region and who have made left their footprint as distinct action spaces. 28

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