Structural change through innovation: the renewal of traditional industrial areas

The economic transformation of the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia provides proof for the view that structural change cannot occur without the renewal of old industrial areas. In North Rhine Westphalia, the regional government played a vital role in the transformation of the area from a coal and steel-dominated economy to a thriving diversified economic one. Of particular importance was the government's commitment to technological and industrial renewal, which paved the way for the region's emergence as a powerhouse in the automotive, chemical, and systems engineering industries.