The cross-border coalfields led to the development of towns along the border throughout the SaarLorLux area. The industry fell into crisis. The urban spaces now need to counter the demographic and economic degradation. More and more borders disappear as well. New organisational strategies are now being introduced. This article presents two of them: The strategies of conurbations and the cross-border city networks. The article discusses strengths and weaknesses of these strategies.
GR-Atlas is an interactive, interdisciplinary, thematic atlas of the “Greater Region SaarLorLux.” The atlas is the central result of a research project funded first by the Fonds National de Recherche (FNR = The Luxembourg National Research Fund) and then by the University of Luxembourg. The bilingual (German/French) atlas, which is constantly being added to, presents about 50 different thematic maps, which are based on an internet geographical information system (WebGIS) and have been created across borders for as much of the Greater Region as possible. Four maps show a diachronic view of a phenomenon by means of an interactive timeline. The objects displayed on the maps are linked to a database that can be accessed interactively. The map section is supplemented by a text section with explanations and illustrations of the individual maps.
