Green metropolis

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The green metropolis is a project that was created in 2005 as part of the European Interreg III funding program . It is part of the “Industrial Subsequent Landscape” project, which includes the green metropolis as well as the “Pays des Terrils” project (formerly “Route des Terrils”).

Within the three-country region of Germany , the Netherlands and Belgium , the green metropolis is being developed as a cross-border region that extends from Beringen in Belgian Limburg via Heerlen in Dutch Limburg to Düren in Germany. The green metropolis is home to around 1.5 million inhabitants on an area of ​​almost 2000 km².

An integrating and special commonality of this region, the former coal - mining is he certain decades, the life and work of the residents and shaped the local landscape.. Even today, many relics of the former mining are clearly recognizable: old collieries and winding towers, spoil heaps, former mining settlements and much more.

Development of the green metropolis

In 1992 the era of hard coal mining finally ended with the closure of the last mine . Until then, the mining and processing of hard coal was an important economic and employment factor. After the end of the mining period, a structural change was imperative, which was primarily intended to create new jobs in new work areas. Despite similar problems, the approaches in the three countries were very different, were carried out independently of each other and without cooperation.

As part of a German funding program - the "EuRegionale 2008" - which was extended to the border regions in the Netherlands and Belgium, this problem was recognized and the following questions were asked:

  • How can structural change in the three-country region take place together?
  • How can an impulse for regional development be given?
  • What accents can be set in the three countries?
  • How can joint marketing and image profiling look like?

To solve these questions, an ideas competition was carried out on behalf of EuRegionale2008, in which international and interdisciplinary teams took part. Landscape architects, town planners, artists, architects and other disciplines worked together here. The winning concept was the “Green Metropolis” from Prof. Henri Bava (Germany) and his team with Prof. Alex Wall (USA), Prof. Stephen Craig (Northern Ireland) and Dipl.-Ing. Erik Behrens (Germany).

Based on the master plan for the green metropolis drawn up by Henri Bava and his team, an application for INTERREG III funding was submitted to the European Union. From 2005 to 2008 the Green Metropolis project was funded by the EU as part of the INTERREG project “Industrial Subsequent Landscape”. A total of 25 partners (municipalities, districts and tourism associations) from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands are involved.

target

The border region of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands is characterized by settlement areas and also by natural areas. This connection and networking of the various elements as a kind of DNA structure is also reflected in the logo of the green metropolis. Furthermore, the region with its different cultures, languages, ways of life, sights, projects and initiatives resembles a kind of interesting patchwork carpet - a region with great diversity.

The goal of the green metropolis is "to create the desire for the future from the burden of the old" and to give this attractive diversity an address. It is already known from many regional associations that a network or a region can gain national recognition more easily than, for example, a single location. In the medium term, the green metropolis is to emerge as a region with an independent identity in which the different strengths, cultures and languages ​​are used.

Implementation: The discovery of a new landscape

In a first step, the cross-border region of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands will be linked by two routes. The green route is the green path through our region. It connects numerous natural spaces, recreational areas and national parks in the industrial landscape over 370 km . The metropolitan route is the transnational link in the road network of the green metropolis and - like the green route - the common identity bearer of the region. As a tourist route, it opens up the landscape, which is changing due to structural change, to residents and tourists alike. By car, visitors can follow the metropolitan route over a length of 270 km and rediscover the region for themselves.

Along the route, information points provide information about the green metropolis, the region and over 70 selected sights and leisure opportunities in the green metropolis. Cross-border maps provide orientation in the green metropolis and along the routes. A route book provides information about the routes and the selected sights in the region. With the Grünmetropole booklet, a high-quality product was created that prepares the region and parts of its history and future.

Other Projects

Numerous projects were implemented within the framework of the green metropolis and the EuRegionale 2008, which promote cross-border cooperation, the area of ​​local recreation and leisure as well as the economic sector. For example:

  • "CarlAlexanderPark" in Baesweiler
  • "Horse Park" in Aachen and Herzogenrath
  • “Energy landscape AnnA” and “Energeticon” in Alsdorf
  • “Indeland” with the components Blausteinsee , Indemann , Römerpark, Brückenkopf-Park Jülich and the lookout point at the lignite opencast mine Inden
  • "Wurmtal" in Herzogenrath and Übach-Palenberg

Awards

In October 2006 the green metropolis presented itself at the invitation of the general commissioners of the German pavilion at the 10th International Architecture Biennale in Venice and received international attention for the first time. On November 16, 2006, the green metropolis was awarded a special prize by the German Academy for Urban Development and Regional Planning as part of the 2006 German Urban Development Award. During the award ceremony, the “Green Metropolis” concept was recognized as one of the best concepts in Germany.

In October 2008 the green metropolis was honored by the European Council of Spatial Planners - ECTP with the 7th European Urban and Regional Planning Award 2008 (European award for urban and regional planning). As part of the award ceremony in Dublin Castle, the green metropolis was honored as the best planning concept in Europe in the category “cross-border planning / regional planning / regional cooperation”.

future

The partners of the green metropolis agree that in recent years cross-border cooperation has been greatly improved and added value has been created for the residents. Experience shows that the cooperation between the three countries will continue to be of great importance in the future and that this will continue to be supported by all partners. In the future, the priority will initially be on developing a diverse local recreation region that invites residents and visitors to relax and discover. Based on already existing sights, offers for one to several days stays are created. In the future, the focus will be on the industrial heritage of the region, in particular on upgrading the heaps as unique selling prepositions. In this context, the cooperation with the partners of the green metropolis and Pays des Terrils will be further intensified.

Grünmetropole eV

In June 2009, 14 partners from the Aachen, Düren and Heinsberg districts founded the “Green Metropolis” association in order to further develop the leisure and tourism sector with a focus on local recreation in this region. In the course of the cross-border cooperation with Belgian and Dutch Limburg, as well as a study carried out in 2008 on the topic of "tourism organization of the northern districts of Aachen and Düren", it has been shown that the German side of the green metropolis is also good for leisure and tourism-oriented development Opportunities exist. With the amalgamation to Grünmetropole eV, the organizational and substantive foundations of a leisure and tourism region focused on local recreation are to be laid.

Founding members are the districts of Aachen and Düren, the communities of Aldenhoven, Inden and Niederzier, the cities of Alsdorf, Baesweiler, Düren, Eschweiler, Herzogenrath, Hückelhoven and Stolberg as well as the Brückenkopf-Park Jülich and the association Zukunftsinitiative Aachener Raum (ZAR eV). Later the city of Düren entered. Tourist offers are worked out on the topics of (eu) regional culture, industrial culture and nature. The qualitative improvement of the tourist infrastructure is to be realized as well as increased cooperation with hotels and restaurants.

Main partner of the green metropolis

The main partners in the INTERREG III project Green Metropolis are:

  • Germany

District of Aachen, town of Alsdorf, town of Baesweiler, town of Eschweiler, town of Herzogenrath, town of Stolberg, town of Würselen District of Düren, town of Aldenhoven, town of Düren, town of Inden, town of Jülich, town of Langerwehe, town of Niederzier town of Heinsberg, town of Übach-Palenberg, town of Gangelt

  • Netherlands

Parkstad Limburg, municipality of Brunssum, town of Heerlen, town of Kerkrade, town of Landgraaf, municipality of Onderbanken

  • Belgium

Provincie Limburg, Toerisme Limburg

The Pays des Terrils project in Wallonia (Belgium) is a co-project of the green metropolis in INTERREG III - the “Industrial Subsequent Landscape” project .

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