Travelling through a metropolis that doesn’t yet exist.
Photo: Manfred Vollmer
Dear reader,
welcome to “Essen for the Ruhr”. This book is the first of a trilogy between now and autumn 2009, which will be presenting the plans and projects of the European Capital of Culture and it’s transformation to the Ruhr Metropolis. Exciting, don’t you think?
Since the title was awarded to “Essen for the Ruhr”, on behalf of the 53 local authorities in the Ruhr Metropolis, the exemplary character of the first regional cultural capital and the history of the European title has always been in the foreground.
You can measure the extent to which we have been able to do justice to this challenge from the programme plans to date. But don’t worry, there’s more to come. It goes without saying that “Essen for the Ruhr” will continue to work on the programme until shortly before the start of the Capital of Culture year in order to exploit every opportunity available to turn even seemingly impossible ideas into reality at the last minute.
This stage of planning is dedicated to a “metropolitan viewpoint”. The view from above on the dawn of a new urban era will be at the heart of our story.
The Ruhr Metropolis will be given a face for the first time ever, thanks to the European Capital of Culture year: likeable, tough and utterly unmistakable.
Tourism and architecture are the drivingforce behind this change. Outstanding buildings and tourist infrastructures will make it easier for people to grasp the polycentric urban region in a new way and enable visitors to experience unconventional metropolitan events.
A lot of things are still in a state of flux. We shall be presenting some of the projects whose implementation is still not certain, in the relevant chapters under the title “Future Prospect”. What’s more, the names of many projects are still working titles that may also be changed in the course of time.
The best thing would be for you to browse around in your own good time, and immerse yourself in reading more about Europe’s new and most exciting metropolis.