Wild Urban Forests and wood biomass landscape laboratories on former brownfield sites: Urban Forests and Green

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1 Wild Urban Forests and wood biomass landscape laboratories on former brownfield sites: Urban Forests and Green ECBCC 2015 Bonn November 18 th, 2015 Renate Späth, MKULNV NRW, Referat III-3

2 Ruhr Metropolitan Region North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany

3 The Ruhr Region, the former industrial heart of Germany, today: some figures Nordrhein-Westfalen: surface km² (9.5 % of Germany) 18 million ( 22%) inhabitants; The Ruhr Region : the largest Metropolitan area in Germany and third (after Paris and London) in Europe (4 435 square km) 53 indipendant municipalities with 5. 2 Million inhabitants/1 third of NRWs inhabitants; 40 % of the EU s population lives within a 500 km radius inhabitants per square km, 10,5% migrant population Unemployment rate: average 12, 5 % (range Gelsenkirchen 8. 6 % Wesel)

4 Development of Landscape In the course of time Green forests Blue - water Red - urban industrial regions

5 The Ruhr Area: trends of structural changes Decline of old industries leads to: 1. Socio-economic effects (e. g. high unemployment rates, declines of local tax income, 2. Demographic effects (e. g. shrinking population, migration, concentration of disadvantaged population groups like migrants) 3. Urbanistic effects (perforation of urban landscape, loss of quality in local infrastructure)

6 Shrinking cities The decline of coal mining and steel industries Coal mining, iron and steel industries as large-scale industrial activities decrease; (coal mining: 1960: workers, 1999: ; unemployment rate : 13.4 %) What is left: a significant amount of derelict land The question at stake: how to develop these areas, which are estimated somewhere between and hectares in the Ruhr Region One green solution: the wild urban forest project a low budget project of the International Building Exhibition Emscher Park Result: some areas could be transformed into wooded areas by natural regeneration

7 Conceptual framework for the post-industrial urban landscape I: wild forest areas The areas left by industry are situated within the city, their size ranging between 10 and 200 ha These areas are or will be accessible after decades of having been forbidden land for the city dwellers They will not be managed in a way forests are managed, there will be no planning or nature conservation areas Whoever wants to visit is free to do so Art in Nature may act as Translater between history, todays purposes and future options Research is conducted : about the natural development of the areas, their use and the perception towards the new forest type

8 Successional Development The Cycle of Life

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11 The former Colliery Area of Rheinelbe City of Gelsenkirchen As a role model EEA 2010

12 Wild urban forests as green classrooms We offer schools and pre-schools the use of the wild urban forests We encourage the schools to develop concepts that suit the childrens daily lifes and experience We prefer small groups to be able to concentrate on each individual child We concentrate on social competence To be outside for children is experiencing freedom

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16 World Heritage Site Colliery Zollverein

17 Conceptual framework for the post-industrial urban landscape 2: biomass landscape laboratory

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19 Cooperation between Forest administration and Coal Mining industry 2005 Masterplan Emscher Landscape Park 2006 Zeche Hugo starts with landscape laboratory idea 2007 Structural conception Signing of a formal cooperation 2011 Structural conception Beginning of field work with bringing in soils 2014 Initial plantations 2015 Structural conception Planting

20 The future: Conceptual framework phase 2; Biomass Laboratory mining area HUGO, Gelsenkirchen (25 ha)

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25 Aims of the biomass laboratory Greening of a large brownfield site Production of biomass in an urban neighbourhood Communication of bioenery production Integration in the green infrastructure of the City of Gelsenkirchen Place making for neighbours, esp. children/young people/ schools Information about soil and soil building processes Shaping of a green urban area for learning

26 Thank you for listening Thanks to Michael Godau and Peter Keil for pictures and to Frank Lohrberg for the structural concept