Institutionalizing Sustainability: A New Social Contract for Urban Industrial Sites

One characteristic of the urbanization process in post-war Germany was the development of mono-functional industrial areas. Today these areas suffer from spatial decline and are affected by increasing urban brownfields. The challenge in their revitalization is not only one of urban planning, but also, most importantly, climate protection and low carbon development, with especially the energetic potential being huge. Based upon considerations on institutional theory, this article addresses the renewal of the industrial zones in the context of a societal "transformation towards sustainability", posing the question how sustainability can be institutionalized permanently and as a-common task of all stakeholders. The article discusses new forms of organization using examples from Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders). As a result, an ideal type of governance pattern becomes recognizable based on three pillars: interfirm cooperation, participation of the local-state actors and an industrial site management (park management).