Land redevelopment based on sports and cultural projects: A study on the regeneration of old industrial areas in Dortmund, Germany

The transformation of old industrial areas is spreading from developed countries to developing countries, and sports culture as an effective means of urban regeneration has attracted widespread attention. This paper focuses on Dortmund's Westfalenstadion project in the Ruhr area of Germany, and analyzes in depth how the project has led the surrounding areas to realize the regeneration of old industrial areas with sports and culture projects through field surveys, historical retrospectives, etc. The results of the study show that: (1) Dortmund has successfully transformed from a traditional heavy industrial city into a sustainable and intelligent technology city by grasping the opportunities of globalization and implementing the Ruhr Area Transformation Plan, and the Westfalenstadion project is precisely an exploratory practice for the regeneration of the old industrial area led by sports culture in accordance with the trend. (2) In the course of the project, the capital invested by the federal government and the city government has gradually been reduced, and the participation of the soccer club has been weakened, with social capital taking a dominant role in construction and operation. (3) The development of the stadium has significantly promoted the transformation of the surrounding land use, with the pattern of land use shifting from greenfield and residential areas, which were mainly for the primary and secondary industries, to the tertiary industry-based. The development of the stadium has significantly promoted the transformation of the surrounding land use, shifting the land use pattern from primary and secondary industry-oriented green areas and residential areas to tertiary industry-oriented comprehensive functional land use, and optimizing the spatial functional structure. (4) The construction of the stadium has enhanced Dortmund's global reputation, promoted the upgrading of the industrial structure to the tertiary industry, increased the local employment rate, accelerated the construction of infrastructure, improved the quality of life of the residents, and thus promoted the structural renewal and modernization of the city. By summarizing the development experience of the project and the mechanism of the old industrial area regeneration driven by the sports and cultural projects construction, we finally put forward the experience that can be borrowed by China, with a view to providing ideas for the ongoing renewal of old industrial areas in China.