Coal mining, geopolitics and cities: Urban utopias and dystopias in North Bohemia

There is a rich literature on mining towns, those urban formations that have evolved rapidly worldwide following the discovery of minerals or solid fossil fuels. Mining has been both a driver and a goal of imperial expansion and continues to feature prominently in geopolitical rivalries. In this article we go beyond the casual observation that mining shapes urbanization in specific places (known as mining towns) and show how urbanism is shaped not only by mining but also by the geopolitical relationships in which mining has and continues to play a key role. Based on a historical reconstruction of the impacts of coal mining on several towns in Northern Bohemia in the Czech Republic, we show how coal mining supercharged by geopolitics has created both urban dystopias (demolished or threatened towns) and utopias (new model towns), the influence of which is felt to this day. Our results point to a neglected intersection of coal mining and urbanism that has historical roots, as we show in this article, but which will also be of growing relevance in the future, as mining for (rare) minerals continues unabated. Urbanism in Europe will also be shaped by the strategic decisions on extracting the continent's mineral wealth.