Changing Work and Community Identities in European Regions : Perspectives on the Past and Present

This book juxtaposes the experiences of regions that have lived or are living through industrial transition in coal-mining and manufacturing centres throughout Europe, opening the way to a deeper understanding of the intensity of change and of how work helps shape new identities. What happens when you take people who come from an industrial background stretching back generations, and remove or radically change the industrial landscape? This book examines the experiences of regions that have lived or are living through these transitions in coal-mining and manufacturing centres located in Turkey, Poland, the UK, Germany, France and Spain. What have been the major changes? What, if anything, remains of the collective cohesion that was formerly structured by the world of huge industrial enterprises? What has happened to the built fabric and spaces once dominated by full employment and confident manual workforces? What transition experiences are held in common between these different countries of a broader Europe? The studies in this book by leading authorities on identity, urbanisation and social change open the way to a deeper understanding of the intensity of change and of the continuing importance of work in shaping new identities Front Matter....Pages i-xv Approaching Regional and Identity Change in Europe....Pages 1-22 Industrial, Urban and Worker Identity Transitions in Nuremberg....Pages 23-56 Industrial Decline, Economic Regeneration and Identities in the Paris Region....Pages 57-90 Two Spanish Cities at the Crossroads: Changing Identities in Elda and Alcoy....Pages 91-123 Post-communist Transitions: Mapping the Landscapes of Upper Silesia....Pages 124-153 Zonguldak Coalfield and the Past and Future of Turkish Coal-mining Communities....Pages 154-183 Representing Identity and Work in Transition: The Case of South Yorkshire Coal-mining Communities in the UK....Pages 184-216 A Skyline of European Identities....Pages 217-231 Back Matter....Pages 232-250 Annotation This book juxtaposes the experiences of regions that have lived or are living through industrial transition in coal-mining and manufacturing centres throughout Europe, opening the way to a deeper understanding of the intensity of change and of how work helps shape new identities