Duisburg, an independent city in the heart of the Ruhr area and the Lower Rhine region, is home to around 500,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia. The city also has over the largest inland harbour in the world.
In Duisburg's Hochfeld neighbourhood, with funding from the E.ON Foundation a Municipal Development Council was set up. The committee received support from Urban Future Ruhr a joint venture between the City of Duisburg - represented by the municipal housing company GEBAG - and Initiativkreis Ruhr.
06/2022 – 03/2025
The Duisburg-Hochfeld district was once strongly characterised by its proximity to heavy industry. Nowadays, it suffers from particular urban development challenges. Deficits in the infrastructure, high environmental pollution and high population fluctuation are noticeable here. Duisburg-Hochfeld epitomises the areas in the Ruhr region that are still suffering from the effects of economic structural change and where the challenges of a just socio-ecological transformation must be tackled with particular urgency.
Innovative and holistic solutions are needed to meet these challenges. A Municipal Development Advisory Board has been set up to discuss with citizens how the Improving the quality of life in the neighbourhood to work out. The focus was on questions of Mobility and the Utilisation of public space. The recommendations for action served as the basis for decisions in the city council.
