Marcin Dudek

Territories of former large industrial plants constitute an equally large problem for cities where they are located. A fall of a factory entails not only the occurrence of the phenomenon of unemployment, but also the reduction of the tax receipts to the municipal budget. Cases which are particularly difficult to deal with are declining steelworks, as due to their sizes and specificity of the production technology they had a strong impact on the planning form of the city and its socioeconomic structure. The question of the future of post-steelworks areas is an issue of strategic importance for municipal authorities as well as for central administration. This paper describes the case of the steelworks in Belval. After its closure, authorities of Luxembourg along with private entities undertook a series of measures allowing to transform this brownfield site into a dynamically developing urban centre. The revitalisation process, conducted since the end of the 20th century, led to the occurrence of one of the most interesting transformations of post-industrial areas in Europe, the new growth axis of which is the knowledge-based development. The decision of the central administration to transfer the University of Luxembourg from the capital to the degraded areas of the former steelworks constitutes an answer to the demographic and economic problems of the entire country, recognising diversification of important services and public structures as a factor which may contribute to more sustainable development of the country by means of activation of local centres.
 

The paper discusses the planning strategy of Luxembourg’s authorities as an answer to socio-economic changes resulting from the crisis in domestic industry. The diversification of metropolitan functions – to areas characterized by poor development may contribute to a more balanced development of the country based on the finance and scientific sectors. The article presents the socio-economic context accompanying changes in spatial policy.