The search for new ways of urban strategies to encounter local problems, the development of active citizenship and the creation of a new identity has begun in Duisburg-Marxloh several years ago.
A report by Urban Rhizome
___ Duisburg-Marxloh - Then and Now
The city district in the north of Duisburg, Germany, is just recovering from its stigmata of being the dangerous „no-go-area“ in North Rhine-Westphalia and was simply called „Little Istanbul“.
Marxloh experienced a population boom in the early 20th century along with an increasing industrialization along the Ruhr River. In the 1920s Marxloh was no longer a village, but consisted of about 35,000 inhabitants.
As a result of de-industrialization Marxloh´s population dropped down to 17,500 until today. Between 1980 and 1994, 11.000 people lost their jobs in the coalmines and steel factories.
Now 34% of the population are recipients of social benefits, the vacancy rate is at 12%. The average education level is low, the unemployment rate is at 23%. Up to 70% of Marxloh´s inhabitants are residents with a migration background from Turkey.
Through a regional, national and European 130 million Euro funding, aiming at the restructuring of the down-going district, starting in 1985, Marxloh is since then continuously improving its image.
Of course - the approaches of refurbishing facades, squares and parks have also been criticized due to a minimum-integration of community proposals.
___ “Gangster’s Paradise” becoming “Germany´s Most Romantic Street”
In spite of all the quarrels - this is an example of an extraordinary successful collaboration between the citizens of Marxloh and the Municipality:
In 2008, Germany´s biggest Mosque proudly opened its doors in Marxloh.
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Polis is a collaborative blog about cities, with a global scope. It is a space for regular contributors and readers to share ideas and information about anything and everything urban, from multiple lenses. Our contributors come from a range of perspectives – from planning to art to architecture to social science.
Urban Rhizome ist eine Agentur für Stadt|Kultur|Ökonomie mit Sitz in Duisburg-Marxloh. Neben ihrer eigentlichen Arbeit, der Entwicklung neuer sozial-ökonomischer Konzepte und der Beratung zu Themen der (Inter)Kultur, Urbanität und lokaler Ökonomie, bietet Urban Rhizome Führungen durch den Stadtteil Duisburg-Marxloh an.
Goals:
- establishing new economical models as a reaction to social & socio-economical problems of shrinking cities
- reducing social & economical obstacles for entrepreneurs / citizens / institutions with a migration background
- optimising relations & appreciation between intercultural / cosmopolitan players in an urban society
- conveying intercultural competences for improved contact with entrepreneurs / citizens / institutions with a migration background
- connecting the issues of urban development, culture, and economy
Alice Aycock, Project Entitled “I Have Tried to Imagine the Kind of City You and I Could Live in as King and Queen”, 1987
