Global shifts in contemporary times: the changing trajectories of steel towns in China, Germany and the United Kingdom

• DOI: 10.1177/0969776411427327
• Publication Date: 2011-11-17T12:05:01Z
• Authors: Ray Hudson; Dan Swanton
• Keywords: Restructuring; Closure (psychology); Capital (architecture)

At one level, this paper centres on the closure of a steel plant in Germany, and then reprieve another UK expansion third China, but at level changing geography production can be seen as symptomatic symbolizing profound changes global manufacturing economy. The closures Dortmund (permanently) Redcar/south Teesside (temporarily) both reflected growing international – not to say restructuring industry strategies that steel-producing companies adopted face markets patterns trade. To extent, first sight might appear familiar unexpected outcome those processes. However, outcomes local for plants themselves turned out very different because they complexity processes interacting effects many influences operating spatial scales within complex social relations capital. Not least was ending steel-making there were directly implicated major by Shagang Jiangsu Province, via transfer complex, disassembled reassembled Jinfeng. disassembly its transport other side world reassembly functional fixed capital added dramatic radical new twist meaning shift.