Public Perception and Community Participation in the Coal Transition in the Ruhr Region – Interim Results of the EU Research Project WINTER

The EU research project WINTER is developing a web-based interactive management tool for the structural change of coal regions. The basis is formed by three pilot regions in the EU in or on the way to post-mining, including the Ruhr area. Part of the analyses required and carried out in this context are public perception and community participation in the coal transition. Results are presented here.

---

Authors/Autoren: Prof. Dr. rer. oec. Kai van de Loo, Senior Consultant, Julia Haske, M. A., Bereichsleiterin, Forschungszentrum Nachbergbau (FZN), Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany

---

The EU research project WINTER

---

The aim of the EU research project WINTER is to create an interactive web platform to support the management of coal regions in transition away from coal, i. e. a kind of interactive online manual for the structural change of coal regions. WINTER stands for “Web-INTEractive management tool for coal Regions in transition”. The project partners are the Research Center of Post-Mining (FZN) at the TH Georg Agricola University (THGA), Bochum, in Germany (known as DMT-THGA in the consortium), the Centre for Research and Technology in Hellas (CERTH) in Greece and the Poltegor-Instytut in Poland. (1) The project, which ran until June 2024, was funded by the European Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS), which was established in 2002 from the remaining assets of the former European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and is managed by the EU Commission for research purposes related to the coal and steel sector (Figures 1, 2).

The WINTER project is examining three pilot regions: the Ruhr area (Germany), Western Macedonia (Greece) and Konin (Poland). For these three regions in different countries, experts from the project partners are collecting and analysing technical, socio-economic, political and legal structures using best and worst practice examples. The exemplary regions are at different stages of transition: while structural change in the Ruhr region is already well advanced, the Greek and Polish coal-mining regions are still at the beginning of these processes.

The main scientific objective of WINTER is to develop the aforementioned regional management manual, which is based on the existing governance structures of the pilot regions. In addition, information from the regions is systematically stored and structured in a data pool. In the long term, the aim is to create an interactive digital tool as a “management tool” that will help the various stakeholders – including local authorities, political actors, social partners and other institutions involved – to optimise the transition process and the associated strategies for the necessary structural change. At the FZN, the regional governance structures with their socio-economic aspects in the pilot regions were specifically examined and summarised in the management manual, which refers to the data structure of WINTER. This is the first time that a framework for such a management tool has been created in Europe, bringing together very different (coal) locations in a regional analysis system that also contains concrete recommendations for practical implementation. The findings of the participating scientists should also be applicable to other coal-mining regions throughout Europe.

The WINTER project also includes a media analysis to provide insights into how structural change is perceived by the regional public, as well as an analysis of community participation in managing structural change in the respective regions. This part in particular will be presented in more detail here with reference to the Ruhr region in Germany.

A first status report on the results available at that time had already been presented in Germany at the 21st Altbergbau Colloquium 2023 in Essen (2). The subject matter there was the holistic approach of the project, interim results on environmental issues and technical solutions for site remediation, as well as on certain socio-economic and management-related aspects, including an idealised management structure in the three pilot regions, and a first solution for the interactive web tool with regard to the use and processing of geodata. The following section presents some further partial results specifically for the coal transition in the Ruhr region, which did not begin with and after the end of domestic hard coal mining in 2018 (Figure 3).

---

Public perception of the coal transition in the Ruhr region

---

All project partners have drawn up a catalogue of 14 common questions for the general public in their respective regions and have surveyed them online. The following section presents the answers from the general public to some selected questions as an example of the public perception of the coal transition in the Ruhr area. In addition, a special survey of so-called stakeholders was carried out.

The FZN conducted an online survey from 17th to 30th November 2023, which was announced in advance via its own communication channels. For this survey, there were 108 responses (fully completed questionnaires) from 123 visitor contacts. 82.6 % of the participants stated that they themselves lived in the Ruhr area, while only 17.4 % were interested parties from outside the region. This is not a large group, and certainly not representative of the region’s overall population, but rather a small circle of people who already have a special connection to the topic. Nevertheless, some highlights of public perception can be derived from the responses.

The survey design certainly did not overtax anyone. Almost three-quarters of the participants needed five minutes or less to answer the questions. The majority of respondents were men (63.3 %) and only a little over a third were women (36.7 %). There were hardly any young people (20 years and younger: less than 1 %). Instead, 41.3 % of the participants were aged between 21 and 40, and 43.1 % were aged between 41 and 60. 14.7 % were over 60. 86.2 % of the participants stated that they were employed, self-employed or civil servants, 9.2 % were pensioners, 1.8 % were housewives/househusbands, 0.9 % were students and 1.8 % were other.

Three sets of questions should be emphasised in particular because they address central issues of the coal transition and have sometimes provided somewhat surprising answers.

One of the first questions (Figure 4) was: What comes to mind when you think of the Ruhr region? Which aspects do you associate with the region in particular?

A large majority answered: industry and mining (72.5 %). This emphasises the strong mining industry character of the region. This still has an impact, although hard coal mining in the Ruhr area has been completely stopped since 2018 and is therefore only history. The actual share of industry in value creation and employment in the Ruhr region is also below the national average today, which is, however, also a major reason for the ongoing structural problems in the region and – if one interprets the findings cautiously – is perceived as a deficit by those surveyed. It is very remarkable that cultural and leisure activities are now considered the second most important aspect of the region (56 %). In this area, the present Ruhr region objectively has a lot to offer and can utilise the advantages of the urban conurbation. This is obviously also perceived by many in this way. In third place, albeit by a long way, is the aspect of green spaces and nature (33 %). As a perception by at least a considerable part of the population of a former mining and industrial region, this is considerable and contradicts the still widespread external image. In fourth place comes the aspect of good education (23.9 %), which is probably due in particular to the region’s high density of universities. It is not surprising that only then do assessments such as “economic success” (19.3 %) and “attractive jobs” (14.7 %) come in the public perception of the Ruhr region. The latter, however, conflicts with recent surveys that show that “future jobs” in the fields of green technologies and digitisation are growing particularly quickly in the Ruhr region compared to other metropolitan regions in Germany (3). It is almost surprising, however, that today an environmental issue that used to dominate the region, namely “poor air quality”, is mentioned by even fewer respondents (11.9 %) and “severe environmental pollution” ranks even lower (11 %).

When asked “Which of these points do you think are particularly important for the citizens of your region (the Ruhr region)?”, (Figure 5) there was a selection list in which one point clearly dominated public perception: “Creating new jobs” (81.7 %). This is hardly surprising given the persistently high unemployment rate in the Ruhr region, which remains at +/- 10 %, stubbornly four percentage points higher than the national average. The issues of “environmental protection measures” (49.5 %) and even “preservation of the industrial heritage” (55 %) follow at some distance – apparently an issue that is still far from being of secondary importance to large sections of the population of the Ruhr area. “Public participation and transparency” (38.5 %) and “Support for affected workers” (24.8 %) are not considered to be as important, which may be because significantly fewer deficits are perceived here.

The question “What kind of measures do you think are necessary for structural change in the Ruhr region?” (Figure 6) also has a clear No. 1 in the public perception surveyed: the promotion of new technologies (74.3 %). Again, “retraining and education programmes” (45 %) and “development of new forms of energy” (39.4 %) follow at a considerable distance – in the former coal-mining area, the replacement of coal with new energies – although not precisely defined – is therefore less popular among the public involved than openness to technology and qualification measures across the economy. In contrast, the more specific concerns of the business community itself are perceived as less important, such as “support for start-ups and new companies” (35.8 %) or “designation of new industrial estates” (11.9 %). Less than a third of those surveyed also consider “greater public participation” (28.4 %) to be necessary for further structural change in the Ruhr region.

Further questions concerned, e. g., the assessment of the efforts of the state government and the municipalities to manage the transition away from coal in the Ruhr area (38.5 % consider these to be average, 39.5 % to be good or better) or their own knowledge of concrete transition projects in the Ruhr area (relatively high among those involved: 68 %) or their own participation in corresponding initiatives or decision-making processes (relatively low: 16 %). However, this may also be due to the fact that the Ruhr region has long-established forms and procedures of community participation, which will be presented and recognised in the next section.

---

Community involvement in the coal transition in the Ruhr area

---

With regard to community involvement in the coal transition in the Ruhr area, the FZN in particular has carried out a comprehensive investigation of the state activities that have been developed in the recent past, which are summarised here. This is not about the earlier coal policy or accompanying structural policy measures of the federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, or the national structural strengthening law for coal regions and its implications for the Ruhr area, which was introduced in the context of the coal phase-out in Germany. (4) Community involvement here refers to projects or initiatives with municipal or local participation, up to and including citizen surveys.

We would like to draw your attention to an earlier international analysis of the Ruhr region’s longer-term experience of structural change, which, according to its own conclusions, has provided four essential and very plausible insights for a socially acceptable transition (5). What is needed is

1. strategic planning (with a clear focus beyond the electoral cycle);
2. stakeholder commitment (in particular from the mining companies themselves, in the Ruhr area from the RAG Aktien­gesellschaft, and intensive social dialogue, in particular with the trade unions, in the Ruhr area with the IG BCE);
3. resources, i.e. sufficient public funding; and
4. sustainability or “staying power” for all structural policy efforts.

Only on such a basis can community participation be successful in the long term. The Ruhr region can draw on a considerable wealth of experience in this regard. The World Resource Institute (WRI) recognises the Ruhr area as exemplary in how such an approach, based on its industrial heritage and capital, has been able to preserve regional identity while at the same time initiating diversification towards new technologies, particularly in the environmental sector, transport and logistics, as well as large, prestigious socio-cultural projects. (6)

The IBA Emscherpark, which ran from 1989 to 1999, provided important initial experience with community participation in the Ruhr region. Although it initially only affected the Emscher region, which was then considered the “backyard of the Ruhr region”, it was initiated by the state and also supported with funding from the federal government and the EU. However, it would not have been possible to realise it without the active participation of the affected municipalities, the Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR) and the property owners (coal and steel companies). The IBA Emscherpark focused on the long-term ecological redevelopment of the sub-region – the renaturation of the Emscher river was not completed until 2023 – as well as the cultural upgrading and renewal of many locations, but also produced numerous flagship projects such as the campus of the Zollverein colliery and coking plant in Essen – which was even awarded World Heritage status in 2001 (see pp 344 – 353) – the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park and the Mont Cenis Academy in Herne, which have since become the basis for the “Route of Industrial Heritage” established in the Ruhr area. In the aftermath, a number of other inter-municipal projects were developed with local participation, all of which contributed to the Ruhr region being selected as the European Capital of Culture in 2010. (7)

This inter-municipal cooperation was then strengthened by the federal government’s decision in 2007 to end subsidised hard coal mining in Germany by 2018. The affected municipalities in the Ruhr area took this as an opportunity to formulate a “Ruhr concept” together and, together with the city of Ibbenbüren, to launch the “Wandel als Chance” (Change as Opportunity) initiative, which is still in progress and has launched numerous municipal and intermunicipal projects for structural change on the way to and after the end of hard coal mining. From the outset, three areas of activity were prioritised: “Promoting and supporting” in the area of education, “Reusing and developing” in the area of commercial land development and marketing, and “Renewing and inventing” in the area of economic innovation and research. One of the most notable results of this initiative is the mining area agreement between RAG, the state, the Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR) and various local authorities, which initially enabled 20 former mining areas to be developed for new municipal projects. (8)

The initiative “Change as an Opportunity” provided and continues to provide strong impetus for the preparation of the Ruhr Regional Plan, for which the RVR was given responsibility in 2009 as the planning authority for the Ruhr area with its eleven cities and four districts (Figure 7). The Ruhr Regional Plan jointly defines the regional planning objectives for the development of the Ruhr area and for all spatially significant planning and measures, and is designed for a planning period of 20 years. (9) The process had been in the pipeline for years and was subject to certain delays due to internal disagreements, so that the new Ruhr Regional Plan did not officially come into force until 28th February 2024.

This regional plan provides binding guidelines for urban land-use planning, landscape planning and specialised legal procedures. From the outset, not only the municipalities of the Ruhr area and their official representatives, but also the broader public of citizens and civil society were involved in the development of the regional plan. In addition to preliminary expert debates, e. g., the RVR organised the “Ideas Competition for the Future of the Ruhr Metropolis” at an early stage, as well as three public “Future Forums”, the results of which were published in 2013/14 under the title “1000 Ruhr Ideas”. (10) Numerous specialist articles and conferences as well as so-called regional forums were then organised in the period up to 2017, at which the challenges, the foreseeable future and possible ways to achieve it were discussed. In 2018, the association assembly then passed a resolution to develop the regional plan, which initiated the formal procedure. In 2021, an initial official sub-plan was drawn up for regional cooperation locations. In 2022, public participation procedures took place in accordance with the necessary formal legal criteria. Finally, on 10th November 2023, the declaratory decision was taken, which has now acquired legal force.

Even before the formal adoption of the regional plan, the RVR presented the informal “Ruhr Action Programme” in 2022, which contains 54 ongoing joint projects plus 29 project announcements and a “thematic repository” for a further 41 possible projects (11). Examples of current projects that are relevant or particularly important for the coal transition include the Ruhr Stockpile Concept for 58 stockpiles in the region that are already owned by the RVR or will be taken over by it by 2035, the “Ruhr Knowledge Metropolis” with specific collaborations such as the Ruhr University Alliance, the Ruhr Science Forum or the Ruhr Futur and Europa.Ruhr education initiative to coordinate the region’s European activities via the RVR. The latter also includes, among other things, the work to support the Just Transition Plan drawn up for the northern Ruhr area, which receives funding from the EU’s Just Transition Fund for coal regions in transition. In 2024, the RVR also launched the “Green Infrastructure Offensive Ruhr 2030”, which, based on a “Green Infrastructure” charter with six building blocks, bundles numerous local initiatives and is intended to create the planning basis for the extremely ambitious common goal of developing the Ruhr region into the “greenest industrial region in the world”. (12)

The InnovationCity Ruhr initiative, which was launched by the Initiativkreis Ruhr and is supported by the regional economy, started with more modest ambitions but has also attracted a great deal of international attention. The aim of InnovationCity Ruhr is to create a model project for climate-friendly urban redevelopment, which was launched in the traditional mining town of Bottrop, where the last coal mine in the Ruhr region, Prosper-Haniel, was located (13). The aim was to reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in the city’s building stock from the bottom up, so to speak, by actively promoting and advising citizens in a pilot urban area, on the basis of a corresponding roadmap, a master plan and an innovation manual, through energy-efficient renovations, the expansion of the use of heat pumps and solar thermal energy, and innovative battery concepts. This initiative was quite successful. A good third of the building stock was included. The energy-efficient renovation rate in the pilot area was increased to an annual average of 3.3 %, which is twice as high as the national average. In 2021, an interim report showed that CO₂ emissions had almost halved compared to 2009 (by comparison, the national average was 19 %). (14) The programme is now being rolled out to other cities in the Ruhr region.

In contrast to the aforementioned bottom-up initiative InnovationCity, there is a top-down initiative by the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia, the so-called Ruhr Conference (Figure 8). It was launched at the same time as the end of hard coal mining in the Ruhr area in autumn 2018 and, unlike the political summit events of the same name in the 1970s and 1980s, was intended to initiate a lasting process after a preparatory and decision-making phase. In 2018 and 2019, no fewer than 20 topic-centred public discussion rounds with citizen participation took place, which were intended to identify urgent needs and generate concrete proposals for shaping structural change. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia then organised the Ruhr Conference under the motto “People make the metropolis” and selected 73 individual projects that would receive special support from the state and cover the following five areas of action from all areas of life (15):

• networked mobility – short distances;
• successful economy – good jobs;
• diversity in action – strong cohesion;
• secure energy – healthy environment;
• best education – excellent research.

Initially, the Ruhr Conference was led and managed by the Minister President and the Ministry of Economic Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia, and after the state election in 2021, it was transferred to the Ministry of Homeland, Municipal Affairs, Construction and Digitalisation. Whether and to what extent the individual projects – including, e. g., the aforementioned Green Infrastructure Offensive – are suitable for successfully advancing the coal transition is partly controversial and remains to be seen. Initial assessments by the regional chambers of industry and commerce, e. g., were rather cautious and described the projects as being too “small-scale and pale”. (16) Nevertheless, the Ruhr Conference is certainly providing some positive impetus and assistance for regional structural change that would not otherwise have existed. The Ruhr Conference has discussed one central problem for the municipalities of the Ruhr area, but has not yet found a solution to it, namely the high financial burdens of the municipalities, which are primarily the result of the earlier structural change away from coal. (17)

---

Conclusion

---

The experiences described with community participation in the coal transition in the Ruhr area demonstrate – also with a view to the conclusions for the WINTER research project at the European level – that there is no generalisable panacea for successful structural change. The respective regional and local conditions must always be taken into account, different decision-making levels must be integrated, adjustments must be made to changing circumstances and influencing factors, and a permanent learning process must be initiated for the necessary maturing period. (18)

A general finding is that community participation in transition processes is very valuable, prevents silo thinking, enables necessary cooperation and provides a lot of useful information, but at the same time requires reliable leadership, organisation and a willingness to communicate. It is by no means easy to find and maintain the right balance between mere information, advisory functions and active participation in decision-making processes.

Furthermore, community participation, in whatever form, is not the only key to the success of structural change, either in general or in the coal transition in particular. The difficulties faced by the Ruhr region in solving its structural problems, despite a great deal of progress in detail and the outlined forms of participation, are proof of this. More important for the region are favourable market developments, classic regional structural support and a sustainably appropriate general economic policy. And there are also many other relevant starting points for future impulses in between. (19)

---

---

Authors/Autoren: Prof. Dr. rer. oec. Kai van de Loo, Senior Consultant, Julia Haske, M. A., Bereichsleiterin, Forschungszentrum Nachbergbau (FZN), Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola (THGA), Bochum/Germany

---