economic restructuralization, old industrial regions, tradition, globalization

Old industrial regions belong undoubtedly among the principal "loosers" in the deepening process of globalization. Nevertheless, examples from some regions show that the industrial history of such regions is not an insurmountable obstacle to new development trajectories. Aadaptability and the formation of "new combinations" based on the interconnection of local and global trends can give birth to specific advantages which will be able to compete even with "normal" regions. With the example of Manchester, we attempted to demonstrate that a unique combination, or rather a re-combination, of local tradition and global trends, can markedly change the external, but also the internal representation of the whole region.