Ruhr Metropolis: the first regional Green Infrastructure Strategy in Germany

A framework and targets of action for the transition into the 'greenest industrial area' worldwide.

The regional Green Infrastructure Strategy (GIS) is to be established as an informal, planning basis for the further development of green infrastructure in the Ruhr area. The strategy uses the five guiding themes of the Green Infrastructure Charter Ruhr Metropolis (GIC) and gives implementation options for targets of action. It is a tool for the whole region to be used as base for future planning and project development and is the first regional strategy for green infrastructure in Germany. The guiding themes and fields of action are shown in figure 1.

With the GIS, the further development of the Ruhr Metropolis into the 'greenest industrial region' worldwide is to be achieved in a participatory development process. The strategy leads to the implementation and further development of targeted activities and projects that are supported by all those involved. In doing so, an optimal balance between individual interests and the common good is achieved with a clear added value for the region.

What are we dealing with?

An area of agglomeration with history in heavy industries in the process of green transition.

A multifunctional network of green infrastructure providing an approach for solutions for challenges of our time.

The Ruhr Metropolis is characterized by its past as heavy industrial area with coal mining and large industrial sites which had a formative influence on this region. The decrease of mining activities in the second half of the 20^th century and the closing of the last coal mine in 2018 initiated a structural transformation of the Ruhr Metropolis that is still in process. This circumstance is coincidently a chance for the green transformation this region is not merely aiming for but dependent on. Since the Ruhr Metropolis is – with more than 5.1 million inhabitants – one of the largest areas of agglomeration within Europe, it needs to prepare for multiple challenges of our time. Green infrastructure can contribute to solutions of challenges such as establishing high quality of living, climate resilience, species richness, climate justice and a circular economic model. In order to overcome these challenges and reach the target of becoming the 'greenest industrial region' worldwide, the GIS was developed. It provides 27 targets of action deriving from the preceding formulation of the GIC that contains five guiding themes that operate as framework for the green transformation. In this manner, the coordination of aims and implementation of measures shall be improved. Green infrastructure is to be understood as all sorts of green and open spaces as well as grey space with the potential of transformation. Moreover, these elements are not merely considered as remnants of dispersed set­tlement development that are selectively decommis­sioned, improved or redeveloped. On the contrary, these areas are analyzed on a systematic and inter­disciplinary basis for their suitability and strategi­cally planned as part of a coherent, multifunctional network. Instead of assigning them to one-dimensional usage categories (e.g. recreation versus nature con­servation), the various requirements such as climate adaptation, recreation, active mobility and biodiver­sity are interlinked and a multi-coding of limited land resources is sought. 

The backbone of the green infrastructure network in the Ruhr Metropolis is provided by the green corridors (Grünzüge) that since many years ensure the delivery of fresh air and close by recreational spaces for the communities. These corridors are now under transformation to meet the future needs of the citizens but also the challenges of climate change. We therefore collaborate with many partners to create and connect more elements of green infrastructure in the Ruhr Metropolis.

The Ruhr Regional Association (Regionalverband Ruhr, RVR) as environmental and planning association plays an important role in this transformation process.

To do so, the Green Infrastructure Strategy was developed and intends to contribute precisely to the above-described systematic approach and serve as a planning and implementation tool for the various green infrastructure stakeholders by showing them how to take coordinated, targeted action that is geared towards the region’s specific characteristics.

The GIS directly implements the cooperation agreed in the GIC. Although the charter has outlined its development vision for green infrastructure in the region and was politically adopted as a declaration of intent for further cooperation, the strategy fleshes out this vision in technical terms and identifies options for implementation.  

The strategy serves as a catalyst for integrated planning by sharing proven practical knowledge from existing projects on the one hand and putting forward new approaches and project ideas on the other. It acts as a common basis for planning and project realization for the stakeholders in the region and is Germany’s first regional Green Infrastructure Strategy. It also aims to be a role model, source of ideas and a warm invitation to cooperate with other regions.

What is the vision for the region?

The SGI holds the potential to serve as common baseline for future projects for all cities and communities from the region. This enables the partners from the region to develop green infrastructure more successful and help thereby to guide the metropolitan region on the way to a resilient, sustainable, socially fair, livable and climate-adapted region. The strategy thereby acts as a bracket to promote existing and newly developed 'green' projects in the region.

What is the strategy for the region?

A collection of specific implementation possibilities that serves as guideline for stakeholders on regional and municipal levels dealing with green infrastructure. 

The Green Infrastructure Strategy Ruhr Metropolis illustrates the importance of green infrastructure for the future viability of the region. It paints a picture of what makes the green infrastructure in the Ruhr area so unique and how it contributes to the future viability of the region through the interaction of its elements at different spatial scales. In addition, it specifies with a total of 27 action goals how the green infrastructure should be developed and how this can be implemented in different ways. A toolkit clearly summarizes which actors can contribute to achieve these goals at different spatial levels and with which (planning) instruments.

How do we implement the transition?

Providing 27 specific targets of action with associated measures to connect and develop green infrastructure elements within the Ruhr Metropolis.

A total of 27 targets of action were developed by fleshing out the guiding themes of the Green Infrastructure Charter Ruhr Metropolis in terms of space and content. They form the centerpiece of the Green Infrastructure Strategy Ruhr Metropolis and make the agreements of the GIC tangible. The objectives show which stakeholders at the municipal and regional level can contribute to making the region even greener and therefore more sustainable, and with which approaches, measures and instruments.

The diverse objectives open a wide range of possi­bilities, from the protection and the qualitative further development of existing green spaces to a different approach for current ‘grey’ spaces in the form of conver­sion, partial or complete unsealing and retrofitting with green infrastructure. The GIS brings together the perspectives of nature conservation, urban and open space develop­ment, mobility, climate adaptation and climate protec­tion and forms an overarching framework for the exist­ing specialized strategies.

The 27 objectives refer, on the one hand, to established, good professional practice that can be applied to and rolled out in other subregions of the Ruhr Metropolis. On the other hand, they provide new impetus for topics and projects that still represent uncharted territory in the Ruhr area and that are worth exploring under the inte­grated planning concept of green infrastructure.

Transferability of Results:

The process of the creation of the Strategy Green Infrastructure can be transferred to help in other regions creating a common ground for green infrastructure development. As for the Ruhr Metropolis, it started with the process of writing the Green Infrastructure Charter Ruhr Metropolis in which the baseline of the future GIS was already set. The GIS was developed as a product 'from the region - for the region', the key to a successful development process is the participation and cooperation of all relevant stakeholders in the entire region. For this purpose, different formats had taken place, which enabled both a broad discourse and depth of content.

Both, GIC and GIS, were developed in close collaboration with local partners to best meet the needs. The process of the creation with its milestones and the moment of participation is shown in the figure 2.

Publications and Reports:

Charter Green Infrastructure Ruhr Metropolis: rvr_charta_bericht_2022_Web_en.pdf

Strategy Green Infrastructure Ruhr Metropolis (German only – English version will be published): SGI_2024.pdf (rvr.ruhr)

Factbook Green Infrastructure: RZ_2021-11-10_Factbook_RVR_ENGLISCH.indd

Contacts:

Tino Wenning

Ruhr Regional Association (RVR)

Team lead Green Infrastructure and climate neutrality

wenning@rvr.ruhr