Editing Gelsenkirchen (section)

== Economy and infrastructure ==
[[File:Gelsenwasser.jpg|thumb|Headquarters of the Gelsenwasser AG]]
[[File:Karte Gelsenkirchen Strassen.png|thumb|Highways and main roads in Gelsenkirchen]]
[[File:Bogestra hist.jpg|thumb|Two vintage trams on hand for the reopening of the Essener Straße stop in Horst]]
[[File:Hbf ge ubahn.jpg|thumb|''Stadtbahn'' at main railway station]]
Gelsenkirchen presents itself as a centre of solar technology. Shell Solar Deutschland GmbH produces solar cells in Rotthausen. Scheuten Solar Technology has taken over its solar panel production. There are other large businesses in town: {{Interlanguage link|THS Wohnen|de}}, [[Gelsenwasser]], [[E.ON|e.on]], BP Gelsenkirchen GmbH, Shell Solar Deutschland GmbH and [[Pilkington]]. [[ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen]] is a [[zoo]] founded in 1949 as "Ruhr-Zoo" which is now operated by the city.

=== Transport ===
Gelsenkirchen lies on [[autobahn]]s [[Bundesautobahn 2|A 2]], [[Bundesautobahn 40|A 40]], [[Bundesautobahn 42|A 42]] and [[Bundesautobahn 52|A 52]], as well as on Bundesstraßen (Federal Highways) B 224, B 226 and B 227. [[Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof]] (central station) lies at the junction of the [[Duisburg–Dortmund railway|Duisburg–Dortmund]], the [[Essen–Gelsenkirchen railway|Essen–Gelsenkirchen]] and the [[Wanne-Eickel–Hamburg railway|Gelsenkirchen–Münster]] lines.

The [[Rhine–Herne Canal]] has a commercial-industrial harbour in Gelsenkirchen. {{Interlanguage link|Gelsenkirchen Harbour|de|3=Hafen Gelsenkirchen}} has a yearly turnover of 2 million tonnes and a water surface area of about {{convert|1.2|km²|1|abbr=off}}, one of Germany's biggest and most important canal harbours, and is furthermore connected to [[Deutsche Bahn]]'s railway network at Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof.

Local transport in Gelsenkirchen is provided by the [[Trams in Bochum/Gelsenkirchen|Bochum/Gelsenkirchen tramway network]] and buses run by the [[BOGESTRA|Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahn AG]] (BOGESTRA), as well as by buses operated by Vestische Straßenbahnen GmbH in the city's north (despite its name, it nowadays runs only buses). Some [[Stadtbahn]] and tram lines are operated by {{Interlanguage link|Ruhrbahn|de}}. All these services have an integrated fare structure within the [[Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr|VRR]]. There are three tram lines, one light rail line, and about 50 bus routes in Gelsenkirchen.

=== Media ===
Gelsenkirchen is the headquarters of the ''Verband Lokaler Rundfunk in Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. (VLR)'' (Network of Local Radio in North Rhine-Westphalia Registered Association). REL (''Radio Emscher-Lippe'') is also headquartered in Gelsenkirchen.

Among newspapers, the ''Buersche Zeitung'' was a daily till 2006. The ''[[Ruhr Nachrichten]]'' ceased publication in Gelsenkirchen in April 2006. Now, the ''[[Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung]]'' is the only local newspaper in Gelsenkirchen. The local station {{Interlanguage link|Radio Emscher-Lippe|de}} also reports the local news.

There is also a free weekly newspaper, the ''Stadtspiegel Gelsenkirchen'', along with monthly, or irregular, local publications called the ''Familienpost'' and the ''Beckhausener Kurier''.

=== Education and science ===
Gelsenkirchen has 51 [[elementary school]]s (36 public schools, 12 Catholic schools, 3 Protestant schools), 8 ''[[Hauptschule]]n'', 6 ''[[Realschule]]n'', 7 ''[[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasien]]'', and 5 ''[[Education in Germany|Gesamtschule]]n'', among which the ''Gesamtschule Bismarck'', as the only comprehensive school run by the Westphalian branch of the Evangelical ([[Lutheran]]) Church, warrants special mention.

The ''[[Fachhochschule]] Gelsenkirchen'', founded in 1992, also has campuses in [[Bocholt, Germany|Bocholt]] and Recklinghausen. It offers courses in [[Economics]], [[Computer Science]], Engineering Physics, [[Electrical Engineering]], [[Mechanical Engineering]], and Supply and Disposal Engineering.

There is a ''[[Volkshochschule#Germany and Austria|Volkshochschule]]'' for [[adult education]] as well as a city library with three branches.

The Institute for Underground Infrastructure, founded in 1994 and associated with the [[Ruhr University Bochum]], provides a wide range of research, certification, and consulting services. The [[science park]] created in 1995 by [[Internationale Bauausstellung Emscher Park]], {{Interlanguage link|Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen|de}}, provides a pathway to restructure the local economy from coal- and steel-based industries to solar energy and project management.<ref>[http://www.wipage.de/ueber-uns/geschichte/ Über uns (About us)], Wissenschaftspark Gelsenkirchen {{in lang|de}}</ref>