Published 18. 9. 2025

Call for papers for a panel on deindustrialization at the European Association for Urban History (EAUH) conference

Panel Summary

This session explores the long-term implications of deindustrialization and economic transformation in urban and industrial regions. Focusing on post-1989 changes in former socialist states, it also welcomes comparative perspectives, including earlier waves of deindustrialization and industrial cities’ evolving global economic ties.

Presentation

Deindustrialization has reshaped industrial cities across the globe, often posing existential challenges to urban economies and communities. This session investigates how deindustrialized urban regions have adapted, restructured, and sought new pathways for economic sustainability, focusing on post-1989 transformations in former socialist states and industrial cities’ evolving global economic linkages.

1989 led to collapse of centrally planned economies and exposing urban regions to market-driven forces. The privatization and integration into global production networks led to profound urban transformations. Many cities struggled with unemployment, social instability, and the decline of urban infrastructure. Others leveraged these disruptions to stimulate innovation, new industries, and heritage-led regeneration. Recent research should situate this phenomenon within the framework of global economic shifts, including the rise of new industrial hubs in the Global South.

This session will also examine earlier waves of deindustrialization from the 1970s onward to provide a broader comparative framework. Case studies will analyze similarities and differences in policy responses and the role of global economic shifts in shaping urban resilience. We welcome discussions on how industrial cities have navigated shifts in production models, labor markets, and governance structures in response to economic shocks and the reorganization of global supply chains.

Key questions include: How have industrial post-socialist cities responded to deindustrialization? What strategies have enabled some urban regions to adapt and thrive while others have stagnated? How have changes in global production networks affected European industrial cities? What role did geopolitics, environmental policies, and industrial heritage play?

This session welcomes interdisciplinary perspectives. Contributions may include sector-specific studies, city case analyses, and comparative explorations of deindustrialization across different temporal and geographical contexts. This session aims to generate new insights into the long-term trajectories of deindustrialized cities and regions within a global economic framework.