Editing Ruhr (section)

===Postwar period===
After the war, the region fell within the [[British occupation zone in Germany|British occupation zone]], and [[Industrial plans for Germany|Level of Industry plans for Germany]] abolished all German munitions factories and civilian industries that could support them and severely restricted civilian industries of military potential. The [[International Authority for the Ruhr|Ruhr Authority]], an international body to regulate the Ruhr's coal and steel industries, was created as a condition for the establishment of the [[West Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]].<ref>Yoder (1955), pp. 345–358</ref>

During the [[Cold War]], the Western allies anticipated that any [[Red Army]] thrust into [[Western Europe]] would begin in the [[Fulda Gap]] and have the Ruhr as a primary target. Increased German control of the area was limited by the pooling of German coal and steel into the multinational [[European Coal and Steel Community]] in 1951. The nearby [[Saar (protectorate)|Saar region]], containing much of Germany's remaining coal deposits, was handed over to economic administration by France as a protectorate in 1947 and did not politically return to Germany until January 1957, with economic reintegration occurring two years later. Parallel to the question of political control of the Ruhr, the Allies tried to decrease German industrial potential by limitations on production and dismantling of factories and steel plants, predominantly in the Ruhr. By 1950, after the virtual completion of the by-then much watered-down "level of industry" plans, equipment had been removed from 706 [[Factory|manufacturing plants]] in the west, and steel production capacity had been reduced by 6.7 million tons.<ref>Gareau (1961), pp. 517–534</ref> Dismantling finally ended in 1951. In all, less than 5% of the industrial base was dismantled.<ref>[[John Ardagh]], ''Germany and the Germans'' (1987) p 84</ref>

The Ruhr was at the centre of the German economic miracle [[Wirtschaftswunder]] of the 1950s and 1960s, as very rapid economic growth (9% a year) created a heavy demand for coal and steel.

After 1973, Germany was hard hit by a worldwide economic crisis, soaring oil prices, and increasing unemployment, which jumped from 300,000 in 1973 to 1.1 million in 1975. The Ruhr region was hardest hit, as the easy-to-reach coal mines became exhausted, and German coal was no longer competitive. Likewise the Ruhr steel industry went into sharp decline, as its prices were undercut by lower-cost suppliers such as Japan. The welfare system provided a safety net for the large number of unemployed workers, and many factories reduced their labor force and began to concentrate on high-profit specialty items.<ref>Ardagh, ''Germany and the Germans'' (1987) pp 74–82</ref><ref>Christian Berndt, "Ruhr Firms between Dynamic Change and Structural Persistence. Globalization, the 'German Model' and Regional Place-Dependence", ''Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers'' New Series, Vol. 23, No. 3 (1998), pp. 331–352 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/623205 in JSTOR] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026101556/http://www.jstor.org/stable/623205 |date=26 October 2016 }}</ref>

As demand for coal decreased after 1958, the area went through phases of structural crisis (see [[steel crisis]]) and industrial diversification, first developing traditional heavy industry, then moving into service industries and high technology. The air and water pollution of the area are largely a thing of the past although some issues take a long time to solve.<ref>De Ridder K. et al., 2008. Simulating the impact of urban sprawl on air quality and population exposure in the German Ruhr area. Part I: Reproducing the base state. Atmospheric Environment 42,7059–7069</ref><ref>De Ridder K et al., 2008. Simulating the impact of urban sprawl on air quality and population exposure in the German Ruhr area. Part II: Development and evaluation of an urban growth scenario. Atmospheric Environment 42,7070–7077</ref> In 2005 [[Essen]]<ref>[http://en.kulturhauptstadt-europas.de/start.php] "Essen for the Ruhrgebiet" {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915121601/http://en.kulturhauptstadt-europas.de/start.php|date=September 15, 2008}}</ref> was the official candidate for nomination as [[European Capital of Culture]] for 2010.