Sustainable Transformation of Post-Mining Areas: Discreet Alliance of Stakeholders in Influencing the Public Perception of Heavy Industry in Germany and Poland

The sustainable transformation of areas associated with mining is an essential contemporary challenge. In the course of such transformations, economic benefits are confronted with community criticism of heavy industry. In this context, the study examines spatial solutions implemented in the revitalisation of areas adjacent to active industrial sites. The article aims to characterise solutions applied in locations that elude a straightforward division into industrial and post-industrial. The motivations of the entities involved in the construction and the effects of implementing such projects are investigated. To achieve this aim, compositional and visual linkages in four locations (in Germany and Poland) were analysed, along with the intentions of designers and investors and the opinions of users. The study revealed the influence of political decisions on spatial solutions, an aspect not previously analysed, which has led to a limited understanding of the role they play in the transformation. It was indicated that drawing users’ attention to the aesthetic values of active industrial areas coincides with diverting attention from their nuisances. The discreet cooperation between local authorities, designers, and industry (as expressed in architectural solutions) was emphasised. The research opens a field for discussion on managing community perceptions through spatial solutions.