The Ruhr area is a unique region in many respects: in its development into one of the largest European urban agglomerations of heavy industry as well as in its structural change into a technology and service region.
The map sections illustrate individual thematic layers of the region in maps, graphics and textual explanations. They go beyond the previously known representations and show surprising structures and processes of current change in terms of settlement geography, economy, landscape, ecology, social and structural aspects. Their compilation at the end of the book provides a basis for discussion on the shaping of the region.