IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/enviro/v2y2014i2p45-56n6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revitalisation of spoil tips and socio-economic polarisation – a case study of Ruhr area (Germany)

Author

Listed:
  • Chmielewska Marta

    (Department of Economic Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska Str. 28, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

  • Otto Marius

    (Cultural Geography Work Group, Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Wüllnerstraße 5b, 52062 Aachen, Germany)

Abstract

The paper discusses issues about the revitalisation of spoil tips, socio-economic polarisation and social exclusion in the field of municipal recreational activities based on an example of the largest post-industrial region in Europe – the Ruhr area in Germany. Revitalisation of brownfield areas very often leads to the creation of leisure facilities of various types (with a range of entrance fees) and because of this it may mitigate, or exacerbate, the severity of these negative phenomena. In the Ruhr area there are 104 spoil tips of different origins (mine tips, slag heaps, rubbish dumps), sizes and shapes (from conical heaps, through table mountains shaped tips and intentionally shaped for landscape tips, to major tips) and state of preservation. The research has shown that it is possible to use the majority of these spoil tips in the Ruhr area (87 of them) as leisure facilities as they have been changed into green areas, parks, playgrounds, locations for sports activities and tourist attractions after their restoration. Furthermore, they are mostly accessible free of charge and may serve a wide range of people – from locals to visitors, from children to senior citizens etc., regardless of their income. As such they may mitigate the socio-economic polarisation tendencies in the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Chmielewska Marta & Otto Marius, 2014. "Revitalisation of spoil tips and socio-economic polarisation – a case study of Ruhr area (Germany)," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 2(2), pages 45-56, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:enviro:v:2:y:2014:i:2:p:45-56:n:6
    DOI: 10.1515/environ-2015-0037
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/environ-2015-0037
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/environ-2015-0037?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chris Hamnett, 1996. "Social Polarisation, Economic Restructuring and Welfare State Regimes," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 33(8), pages 1407-1430, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chris Hamnett, 2003. "Gentrification and the Middle-class Remaking of Inner London, 1961-2001," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(12), pages 2401-2426, November.
    2. Thomas Maloutas, 2009. "Urban Outcasts: A Contextualized Outlook on Advanced Marginality," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 828-834, September.
    3. C Hamnett & D Cross, 1998. "Social Polarisation and Inequality in London: The Earnings Evidence, 1979–95," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 16(6), pages 659-680, December.
    4. Zwiers, Merle & Kleinhans, Reinout & van Ham, Maarten, 2015. "Divided Cities: Increasing Socio-Spatial Polarization within Large Cities in the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 8882, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Gila Menahem & Nelly Elias, 2007. "Gendered Occupational Differences and Earnings Gaps in Globalising Urban Economies: The Case of Tel-Aviv," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(11), pages 2211-2229, October.
    6. Judith Watson & Andrew Church, 2009. "The Social Effects of Travel to Learn Patterns - A Case Study of 16-19 Year Olds in London," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 24(5), pages 389-414, August.
    7. Thomas Maloutas & Hugo Botton, 2021. "Trends of Social Polarisation and Segregation in Athens (1991–2011)," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 117-128.
    8. Jacqueline Borel-Saladin & Owen Crankshaw, 2009. "Social Polarisation or Professionalisation? Another Look at Theory and Evidence on Deindustrialisation and the Rise of the Service Sector," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(3), pages 645-664, March.
    9. Alyson van Raalte & Pekka Martikainen & Mikko Myrskylä, 2014. "Lifespan Variation by Occupational Class: Compression or Stagnation Over Time?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(1), pages 73-95, February.
    10. Neil Lee & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2013. "Innovation and spatial inequality in Europe and USA," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, January.
    11. Mark Goodwin, 1996. "Governing the Spaces of Difference: Regulation and Globalisation in London," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 33(8), pages 1395-1406, October.
    12. Scott Baum & Michelle Haynes & Yolanda van Gellecum & Jung Hoon Han, 2006. "Advantage and Disadvantage across Australia's Extended Metropolitan Regions: A Typology of Socioeconomic Outcomes," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(9), pages 1549-1579, August.
    13. Charlotta Hedberg, 2009. "Entrance, Exit and Exclusion: Labour Market Flows of Foreign-born Adults in Swedish ‘Divided Cities’," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(11), pages 2423-2446, October.
    14. Anastasia PANORI & Yannis PSYCHARIS, 2018. "The impact of the economic crisis on poverty and welfare in Athens," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 48, pages 23-40.
    15. Gila Menahem, 1999. "Urban Restructuring, Polarisation and Immigrants' Opportunities: The Case of Russian Immigrants in Tel-Aviv," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(9), pages 1551-1568, August.
    16. Tim Cassiers & Christian Kesteloot, 2012. "Socio-spatial Inequalities and Social Cohesion in European Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(9), pages 1909-1924, July.
    17. Konrad Miciukiewicz & Frank Moulaert & Andreas Novy & Sako Musterd & Jean Hillier, 2012. "Introduction: Problematising Urban Social Cohesion: A Transdisciplinary Endeavour," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(9), pages 1855-1872, July.
    18. Ian Richard Gordon & Ioannis Kaplanis, 2014. "Accounting for Big-City Growth in Low-Paid Occupations: Immigration and/or Service-Class Consumption," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 90(1), pages 67-90, January.
    19. Tim Butler & Chris Hamnett & Mark Ramsden, 2008. "Inward and Upward: Marking Out Social Class Change in London, 1981—2001," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(1), pages 67-88, January.
    20. Chris Hamnett, 2021. "The changing social structure of global cities: Professionalisation, proletarianisation or polarisation," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(5), pages 1050-1066, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:enviro:v:2:y:2014:i:2:p:45-56:n:6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.