The districts of Düren, Euskirchen, Heinsberg, Rhein-Erft-Kreis and Rhein-Kreis Neuss, the Aachen city region and the city of Mönchengladbach form the Rhenish Mining Region. For decades, the region has been shaped in many ways by lignite – its mining in opencast mines, its refinement and its conversion into electricity in power plants. Mönchengladbach represents the largest affected urban area within the coalfield. The imminent lignite phase-out poses a major structural challenge for the region.

Structural upheavals are nothing new for Mönchengladbach. Already since the 1960s and again around the beginning of the new millennium, the urban community had to deal with the consequences of the collapse of large parts of the once large textile industry. Some industrial brownfields still tell stories of former industrial structures. That’s how we know: Structural change in the city must be actively shaped! In addition to risks, it also offers opportunities for the sustainable development of the city’s economy. This is where the city of Mönchengladbach and its subsidiaries work closely together. The city’s structural change unit is the central point of contact for structural change in Mönchengladbach: Click here to go to the unit’s website. There you will also find a short FAQ with the most frequently asked questions about structural change.

As part of the Rhenish Mining Region, companies, research institutions and public institutions from Mönchengladbach can draw on a large volume of funding to manage structural change. In the future fields of “Energy and Industry”, “Innovation and Education”, “Resources and Agrobusiness” and “Space and Infrastructure”, it is possible to finance projects via recurring funding calls. What is funded is outlined in the region’s economic and structural program. Zukunftsagentur Rheinisches Revier provides advice on the future fields. On the subpage https://www.rheinisches-revier.de/projekte you will find some projects from the region.