Utilizing the past: Valorizing post-mining potential in Central Europe

• Exploring regional development options in post-mining regions.
• Identifying and capitalizing on the post-mining potential of landscapes.
• Three case studies from Central Europe characterized by predominantly small and medium-sized towns.
• Discussion of the opportunities and limits of post-mining potential.

Once cradles of industrialization and centers of wealth creation, many “old industrialized” regions worldwide are currently faced with crises. Nevertheless, they are also places that have searched for innovative spaces and practices in order to overcome the economic, social and environmental outcomes of structural changes.In recent decades, many European centers of old industries (e.g., mining and steel production) have been rendered unprofitable through various processes. These changes have had a profound impact on such regions: complete closures and substantial downsizing of production sites have triggered difficult processes of de-industrialization, unemployment and outmigration. Additionally, negative connotations and images of the industrial past and the (post-) industrial present hamper development efforts. Regions characterized by small and medium-sized towns have been negatively affected.This paper discusses approaches and challenges to overcome the difficult transformation processes using the examples of three Central European mining regions, highlighting their ways towards more sustainable futures. The paper asks specifically about approaches that include potential related to the industrial past that can be reutilized in different ways, opening new development perspectives. The focus is on the opportunities and problems in addressing this post-industrial potential.