The German city of Bottrop is known for its coal mine, Prosper-Haniel, which employs 5,300 people and will shut down by 2018.
Bottrop's unemployment rate was eight percent at the end of May 2015, compared to a national average of 4.7 percent. Many of the city's 116,500 residents live in poverty, according to the city.
But urban planners have decided to change the city's image, and they hope, the lives of its citizens, through green initiatives.
Read the full story at Keystone Crossroads' website. Keystone Crossroads is a new statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania's cities. WPSU is a participating station.
