The city of Dortmund once proudly described itself as the "triad of coal, steel, and beer." Those days are gone forever. "The last coal mine was closed in 1987, steel production ceased in 2001 after 160 years, and of the dozens of breweries we had in the 1970s, only one is left, so now we have cultural history and the remnants—sites and buildings—are industrial monuments," dryly summarizes Gert Burkhart, guide of Dortmund Tourism.
Also gone are the 80,000 jobs that these industries once provided; such structural change has shaken the city considerably. To address the resulting economic and social problems, in 2000 the city of Dortmund teamed up with the city's remaining steel producer ThyssenKrupp and consulting company McKinsey to draft a plan.
"The three partners founded dortmund-project to create a network between city administration, local companies, and research institutions to create optimum conditions for establishing new ...
