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This paper studies the interplay between governance priorities concerning urban shrinkage and the circular economy (CE) agenda in the cases of Parkstad Limburg (NL) and Satakunta (FI), aiming to assess the potential of European circular imaginaries for creating novel development pathways in shrinking cities and regions. The findings reveal that the CE agenda emerges within specific sectors due to various influences, including European institutional frameworks, national policies and local initiatives. Notably, the advocacy of commercial actors plays an instrumental role in advancing the CE concept into policy. However, both regions also demonstrate differences arising from distinct regional characteristics. Satakunta harnesses its manufacturing legacy to pursue economic and demographic growth through an industrial CE. Meanwhile, Parkstad Limburg prioritises circular construction to facilitate spatial restructuring and secure public funding. Therefore, in shrinking contexts, CE operates as a unifying agenda for existing interests, upholding prevailing political priorities rather than opening novel governance avenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Urban contraction brings about certain impacts on the advancement of urbanization. Methods: This paper explores the coupling coordination (CCD) and geographical distribution of land urbanization (LU) and population urbanization (PU) in Jiangsu Province through a CCD model and a spatial autocorrelation model from the perspective of shrinking cities. The Panel Vector Autoregression (PVAR) model is constructed to deeply investigate the complex interaction between the PU-LU in 13 cities, 2007-2020. Results: The study found that the PU-LU CCD in each of the above-mentioned cities shows a synergistic incremental evolution during the study period in terms of time series. In addition, in terms of spatial characteristics, the CCD of PU and LU shows significant positive global spatial autocorrelation, and the CCD of cities with high population size growth is much larger than that of cities with continuous population size. Last, there is an interactive response relationship between PU and LU. PU influences LU, however, PU itself is influenced by its own system's internal structure. The impact of PU on LU shows a positive cumulative effect of the "inverted U shape." Discussion: Furthermore, this paper proposes that policies be created to ensure the coordinated growth of PU-LU based on the differences in resource endowments of cities with 3 types of urban shrinkage. The link between floating population and construction land for cities should be established through enhancing the extent of intensive land use and reforming household registration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resource-exhausted cities have different development paths in terms of urban growth and urban shrinkage in the transformation process. However, existing studies do not sufficiently understand the divergence of development paths. Taking Zaozhuang and Fuxin, a growing resource-exhausted city and a shrinking resource-exhausted city in China as examples, this study reveals the main causes of the divergence of path evolution in these two cities based on the analysis of resilience differences and their influencing factors. First, due to the insufficient management capacity of local governments, coal resource-exhausted cities will rely excessively on provincial or central government policies during a critical period of transformation and will fail to make long-term and realistic considerations about future strategic choices, thus evolving into shrinking cities. Second, in response to the crisis of coal resource exhaustion, the level of innovation is crucial to foster sustainable industries and thereby influence the future development path of resource-exhausted cities. In addition, a Fisher information–adaptive cycle analysis framework is constructed to explore differences in the development paths of resource-exhausted cities. This provides a new approach to comparing and assessing urban resilience and extends the quantitative adaptive cycle theory approach. Our empirical study proved that this analytical framework is reliable and generalizable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inner core of Sombor, known as "Venac", is probably the best-preserved one among medium-sized cities in Serbia. The stagnation of Sombor during the 20th century and its urban shrinkage in the 21st century have prevented significant transformations of the core, enabling its preservation under state protection as an urban heritage site. However, the recent rise of cultural tourism has triggered urban regeneration. As the city is still unprepared for this change, this regeneration has mostly omitted the inner core. Realising this, local representatives and experts have started rethinking innovative approaches to its regeneration, including the concept of Albergo Diffuso. This sustainable concept is created to revive the historic cores of small, shrinking cities and towns. Basically, it represents a hotel situated in several old buildings dispersed throughout a historic urban fabric, fitting perfectly into the regeneration of Venac. However, the current lack of precise spatial indicators and thresholds makes their incorporation into the planning process challenging. Considering this, this study focuses on the current spatial development of tourism in Venac, analysing the elements that would support and facilitate the application of this concept in the future. This article also proposes a set of new planning measures to support a strategically organised approach—from the emphasis on urban reuse and physical renewal to multileveled linking of basic concept conditions to the prioritization of pedestrian-friendly places and the application of innovative urban design in open public spaces. By connecting the selected Albergo Diffuso approach with spatial development and its analysis, this study also contributes to the spatial imprint of the concept's implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Forest fragmentation and urban shrinkage have become the focus of attention in global ecological conservation, with the goal of achieving sustainable development. However, few studies have been concerned with urban forest patterns in shrinking cities. It is necessary to explore whether the loss of the population will mitigate urban forest degradation. Thus, in this study, 195 shrinking cities were identified based on demographic datasets to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of urban forests in China against a depopulation background. To illustrate the explicit spatial evolution of urban forests in shrinking cities in China, in this study, we reclassified land-use products and determined the annual spatial variations from 2000 to 2022 using area-weighted centroids and landscape pattern indexes. The effects of different climatic and topographical conditions on the spatiotemporal variations in the urban forest patterns against population shrinkage were discussed. The results demonstrated that the forest coverage rate in the shrinking cities of China increased from 40.05 to 40.47% with a generally southwestern orientation, and the most frequent decrease appeared from 2010 to 2015. Except for the temperate humid and sub-humid Northeast China, with plains and hills, all geographical sub-regions of the shrinking cities exhibited growing urban forests. Relatively stable movement direction dynamics and dramatic area changes in climatic sub-regions with large forest coverage were observed. The urban forest centroids of shrinking cities at a lower elevation exhibited more fluctuating changes in direction. The urban forests in the shrinking cities of China were slightly fragmented, and this weakened condition was identified via the decelerating fragmentation. The urban forests of the shrinking cities in the warm-temperate, humid, and sub-humid North China and basin regions exhibited the most pattern variations. Therefore, it is emphasized that the monitoring of policy implementation is essential due to the time lag of national policies in shrinking cities, especially within humid and low-altitude regions. This research concludes that the mitigation of urban deforestation in the shrinking cities of China is greatly varied according to moisture and altitude and sheds light on the effects of the population density from a new perspective, providing support for urban forest management and improvements in the quality of residents' lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shrinking and growing cities are categories of cities characterized by population loss or add, and the issue of carbon emissions in these cities is often neglected. Environmental regulation, as an important influence on carbon emissions, plays an important role in promoting the low-carbon transition in Chinese cities. This study focused on the carbon emissions of 272 cities in China from 2012–2021, constructed a comprehensive indicator to classify four city types, and calculated carbon emissions. Spatial-temporal characteristics and evolution of carbon emissions and impacts of environmental regulation were investigated. Carbon emissions of rapidly growing cities showed a downward trend, whereas those of slightly growing, rapidly shrinking, and slightly shrinking cities showed upward trends. The more rapidly a city grew or shrunk, the higher its average carbon emissions. Growing cities' center of gravity of their carbon emissions migrated northwest. Carbon emissions of rapidly and slightly shrinking cities were high in the northeast, and their carbon emission centers migrated northeast and southwest, respectively, with obvious spatial autocorrelation of city types. Strengthening environmental regulations significantly positively affected carbon emission reduction. The impact of environmental regulation on carbon emissions reduction was temporally and spatially heterogeneous and more significant in non-resource cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Questions of responsibility for future‐making often arise in localities where the withdrawal of capital and state seem to leave tangible voids and a sense of loss. Over the past decade, academic discourse has furthered discussions on the role of civic engagement, local initiatives and their agency under conditions of urban shrinkage. However, scholars (including ourselves) are confronted with their own normative assumptions and aspirations when conceptualizing local initiatives in shrinking cities. Through reviewing the literature on this phenomenon, we identified three main epistemological pitfalls that emerge from the legacies of planning discipline, current neoliberal developments and scholars’ own biases. By drawing from our fieldwork experiences, we conclude that local initiatives should be viewed in the plurality of their essences as extremely variegated in form and motivation. We therefore assert the need to disentangle research on local initiatives in shrinking cities from normative aspirations to avoid neoliberal responsibilization, and instead pay attention to the nuances of their aims and practices, achievements and constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to determine the most significant causes of population decline in the regions of the Russian Arctic. The object of the study was the urban population of the subjects of the Russian Arctic. The concept of a shrinking city, which has received various interpretations both in foreign and domestic scientific thought, was chosen as a theoretical framework for understanding the problem. In this article, the shrinkage of cities is understood as a cumulative result of economic and demographic factors that cause population decline in the form of natural loss and migration outflow. On the basis of statistical data, a steady demographic decline was recorded in the cities of the subjects of the Russian Arctic. This made it possible to confirm the validity of the use of this concept in relation to these territories. Based on the materials of domestic and foreign studies, the most general, systemic factors of population decline in the regions of the Russian Arctic were identified, such as: the historical context and the policy of Soviet industrialization, the specifics of the local (regional) identity of the inhabitants of the northern territories, global demographic trends. At the empirical level, a more detailed analysis of the subjective perception of the reasons for the outflow of the population from the Murmansk Oblast, reflected in the public discourse of the participants of the online community of the city of Murmansk in the social network VKontakte, was carried out. The initial analysis base included posts and comments of the community for 20212022 (a total of 23.817 posts and 926.583 comments), the target sample included 268 posts and 2621 comments. Open and axial coding techniques were used to identify three groups of urban development issues as causes of the outflow of population from the region: 1) natural and climatic conditions, 2) quality of life, 3) prospects for the development of the city. Quantitative analysis of the number of comments (under posts) and likes (under comments) allowed us to identify the most significant and persistent problems, which, of course, are of increased interest to representatives of municipal and regional authorities.

Carbon emission issues are becoming increasingly severe, and the carbon emissions in shrinking cities, primarily characterized by population loss, are often overlooked and insufficiently studied. This paper focuses on the carbon emissions from county-level administrative units in China's three northeastern provinces from 2001 to 2017. The study scientifically identified shrinking cities and measured the differences in carbon emission characteristics between growing and shrinking cities using the Theil index. Ultimately, the paper constructs a panel spatial econometric model to analyze the factors influencing them and explore their spatial effects. (1) The total carbon emissions in the Three Northeastern Provinces exhibited an inverted U-shaped trend, increasing from 734.21 million tons in 2001 to 1731.73 million tons in 2017, with the Mann–Kendall trend test showing a significant increase; spatially, this manifests as a significant positive spatial autocorrelation. (2) The region has 138 shrinking cities, accounting for over 50%; regarding carbon emission characteristics, the Theil index has consistently remained above 0.18, indicating significant differences between the carbon emissions of growing and shrinking cities. (3) The panel spatial econometric model results show that the influencing factors of carbon emissions in shrinking cities have unique directions, intensities, and spatial effects. In shrinking cities, aside from localized GDP effects and per-capita GDP acting as a suppressant, the population size has a pronounced inhibitory effect on local and surrounding carbon emissions. The analysis reveals significant differences in the carbon emission patterns and mechanisms between growing and shrinking cities; based on these results, the paper proposes differentiated carbon control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-production often appears as a virtue in academic research and planning practice, particularly in shrinking cities, which struggle to develop effective policies and provide sufficient level of public services. In this paper, we argue that the urban shrinkage context imposes significant limitations to co-production practices, that we urge should not be neglected. Drawing on three contrasting projects in Riga (Latvia), Nevers (France), and Heerlen (the Netherlands), we explore existing limitations and consider possibilities to overcome them. The analyses show that the efficacy of co-production practices is impaired due to a reduced level of trust towards public authorities; selective outmigration; weakened social capital; and political prioritizing of private sector interests over civil society. To overcome these, we discuss the role of several tools, namely mediating actors, independent funding, civic empowerment, and the willingness of public authorities to regenerate power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, an increasing number of Chinese cities have experienced population decline, impacting the urban economy, public services, and paid use of state-owned land (PUL). This paper employs a coupled coordination degree model and the gray correlation coefficient method to examine the relationship between the rate of population change from 1990 to 2020, the rate of PUL change from 2000 to 2020, and the coupled coordination of economy and public services. The study arrives at several conclusions: (1) Cities with declining populations exhibit a lower PUL rate than those without population shrinkage, indicating reduced activity in the land market. (2) Population growth plays a significant role in the coordinated development of the urban economy and public services, fostering urbanization. (3) The economy and public services in shrinking cities rely heavily on revenue generated from the transfer of PUL rights to support their coordinated development. This research provides an insightful comparison between shrinking and non-shrinking cities by integrating the unique compensated land transfer system in China with the critical variable of population change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the differences and similarities between Tier 1 (Tokyo) and Tier 2 (Kansai) metropolitan areas due to shrinking city problems. Both metropolitan areas will see a dramatic decrease in the housing asset value (HAV). Kansai is declining at a faster pace than Tokyo: it is projected that HAVs will register a further decrease of around 38% by 2045, and the decline will be quantitatively more important in the northern suburbs of Osaka. These results raised the question of whether Kansai would be more impoverished by HAV deflation. By focusing on the income multiplier of HAV per household, we find that Tokyo has a higher income multiplier of around 4 (against 2 for Osaka), thus causing much greater HAV deflation per household in Tokyo. Greater HAV deflation per household entails more severe problems for elderly households that need to finance their retirement. Considering our findings, despite earlier and faster trends of HAV deflation in the Tier 2 metropolitan area, the Tier 1 metropolitan area could face big socioeconomic challenges in the future. We conclude that HAV deflation leads to problems of different nature depending on metropolitan rank, rather than just knowing which one is losing more through HAV deflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shrinking cities have, by definition, lost population. Rightsizing is a strategic planning approach to mitigate the challenges of population loss by adjusting a municipality's services, amenities, or even footprint to fit a new demographic reality. While studies have documented the unacceptability and ineptitude of municipality‐driven rightsizing, public school closures have proliferated and quietly become a noteworthy material manifestation of population change. However, as public schools are widely considered to be a foundational component of community cohesion, identity, and prosperity, it begs the question of whether their closure may accelerate the decline feedback mechanisms already present in many shrinking cities. Our study examines public school closures in Ontario, Canada, from 2011 to 2016 to determine the relationship between municipal population trajectories and size and public school closures, and to explore the prevalence of school closures and the community context in shrinking Ontario municipalities. We find that public school closures occurred disproportionately in shrinking and smaller municipalities. Furthermore, public school closure prevalence is associated with low income, low ethnoracial diversity, and low educational attainment. Key messages: In Ontario, public school closures have disproportionately occurred in shrinking and slow‐growth municipalities.Public school closures in Ontario are most prevalent in municipalities with low demographic diversity, low levels of educational attainment, and high proportions of low‐ income households.Public school closures are found to have a reciprocal relationship with population shrinkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses current debates on the role of social capital in the context of urban shrinkage, by investigating the specific role of informal social capital. The results are drawn from qualitative studies conducted in two French medium-sized shrinking cities. The findings show that similarly to the institutional and collective forms of social capital analyzed in previous literature, informal social capital is also impacted by the changes affecting urban place in the context of shrinkage, and particularly weakened for elderly residents – especially women – and young professionals. At the same time, it constitutes an efficient resource, that helps residents facing shrinkage-related problems individually rather than addressing shrinkage itself collectively. Finally, the findings highlight the role of specific social actors such as community centres who, by providing institutionalized sources of social capital, foster the creation of informal social capital and allow us to address its unequal distribution and weakening. This emphasizes the need to reconsider current social capital-based planning strategies, from relying mainly on collective initiatives addressing shrinkage, to supporting institutional social actors in the creation of small scale, individual level social ties and interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While urban shrinkage has extensively befallen cities around the world, the current responses to urban shrinkage have been regarded as deficient and required optimization to help shrinking cities achieve sustainable economic growth and higher quality of life. This paper deploys difference-in-difference (DID) and successfully finds, based on China's national smart city pilot projects, significant effects of smart city development on shrinking cities in catalyzing sustainable economic growth by upgrading and diversifying local industries, promoting economic growth, and providing a better quality of life for citizens through improved wages, enhanced urban environment and public service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Shrinking cities and degrowth thinking share their parting from the dominant growth paradigm and seem to have much to offer to each other. Could degrowth be an inspiring and guiding paradigm for the sustainable development of shrinking cities? Could shrinking cities be suitable testing grounds to apply degrowth’s radical sustainability principles in practice? These and other questions regarding the connections between urban shrinkage, degrowth, and sustainability have hardly been addressed in the scientific literature thus far. This thematic issue brings together novel empirical contributions, taking stock of first attempts to connect degrowth to urban shrinkage, exploring in how far this potential unfolds in practice and what obstacles these attempts face, with a focus on the field of urban planning. In this editorial, we discuss the connections between shrinking cities, degrowth, and sustainability identified in the empirical studies and the dialogues that span across these contributions. We conclude with an updated research agenda for this field of study.

[Objective] In an environment where global trade and world economic exchange continue to be hindered, the urban shrinkage in the forefront of the reform and opening up is a new issue for China's new-type urbanization. Investigating the firm turnover and spatial pattern and mechanism of impact in metropolitan areas under partial population shrinkage is of significant importance for the transition towards a paradigm of “smart shrinkage” in future urban planning. [Methods] Taking the Shenzhen Metropolitan Area as the study area and streets and towns as the objects, and with the help of GIS spatial analysis, multiple regression analysis, and typical case studies, this study identified the population shrinkage areas from 2010 to 2020, analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of industrial growth and decline within the metropolitan area as well as the driving mechanisms behind firm turnover, and explored the mechanism of the partial population shrinkage of the area. [Results] The study found that: (1) Population shrinkage occurred mainly in the towns of Huidong and Boluo, which are 80 km away from the core of the metropolitan area. (2) The overall characteristics of firm turnover in the urban areas are high entry and high exit. Areas of population shrinkage showed weaker levels of firm turnover, entry, and exit. (3) From the perspective of different industries and sectors, the degree of population shrinkage was only significantly negatively correlated with manufacturing firm turnover, and factors such as transportation, innovation, and network played a greater explanatory role in the information technology and trade industries. This suggests that shrinking areas should actively transform by relying on other production factors. (4) Different areas of shrinkage have different causes. The post-financial crisis decline of foreign trade and investment, sustained attraction of the central city to the periphery, widespread implementation of automation, and the difficulty of sustaining traditional development models have all contributed to the partial population shrinkage in the Shenzhen Metropolitan Area. [Conclusion] ​In developed metropolitan areas, population shrinkage in inner cities and the edges of central urban areas is incidental, while population shrinkage in peripheral areas of large metropolitan regions is more universal. Overcoming the negative impacts of population shrinkage and achieving “development through shrinkage” in areas on the periphery of large metropolitan regions pose more formidable and severe challenges.

[Objective] The purpose of this paper is to systematically explore the optimized conversion paths and mechanisms between shrinking urban inefficient industrial land and green infrastructure, and to provide a reference for the intensive and efficient use of shrinking urban inefficient industrial land in China. [Methods] Taking Mudanjiang City, a typical shrinking city, as an example, this study selected the relevant data in 2021 and constructed an identification indicator system of inefficient industrial land use and a performance assessment indicator system of green infrastructure by analytic hierarchical process (AHP) analysis. It used the TOPSIS method for the quantitative evaluation of inefficient industrial land use, and used the ecosystem service value (ESV) correction coefficient method and Fragstats tool for the quantitative evaluation of green infrastructure performance. An optimization model of low-efficiency industrial land based on the performance improvement of green infrastructure was established, and the conversion mechanism of low-efficiency industrial land to green infrastructure was further revealed. [Results] (1) There are 160 land parcels in the state of inefficient utilization in the built-up area of Mudanjiang City (447.30 hm2 in total), accounting for 45.71% of the total number of industrial sites, while green infrastructure is 4950.37 hm2, accounting for 42.18% of the built-up area of the city, with the distribution decreasing from south to north. (2) With the help of the optimal utilization model of inefficient industrial land based on green infrastructure performance improvement, it was found that 303.80 hm2 of inefficient industrial land in Mudanjiang could be converted into green infrastructure. (3) After optimization simulation, 67.92% of in the low-efficiency industrial land is converted to green infrastructure, which leads to 10.18% improvement in the overall performance of green infrastructure. [Conclusion] Using the case of Mudanjiang City, it was empirically demonstrated that the conversion mechanism of low-efficiency industrial land in shrinking cities based on the improvement of green infrastructure performance can prevent inefficient industrial land use and improve the overall performance of green infrastructure. By preventing inefficient industrial land use from further negatively affecting urban development, it can promote the high-quality development of shrinking cities through “exchanging stock for increment”, and provide a reference for research related to the spatial optimization of shrinking cities.

[Objective] This study aimed to analyze the suitability of existing urban construction land allocation strategies in the context of population decline. By examining the impact of urban construction land allocation on socioeconomic development, it provides a theoretical basis for optimizing construction land allocation in the three provinces of Northeast China. [Methods] This study focused on the prefecture-level cities in Northeast China and took 2010—2020 as the research period. Based on the analysis of the current situation of population shrinkage and construction land allocation, we used the Cobb-Douglas production function and panel data models to explore the impact of the scale and structure of construction land on socioeconomic development. Additionally, we identified the challenges and optimization strategies for urban construction land development under the background of population shrinkage. [Results] (1) Under the background of population shrinkage, the planned expansion of urban construction land has a inhibitory effect on socioeconomic growth, and the “land input-oriented development” model is facing ineffectiveness; (2) The input of residential land and public management and service land has a inhibitory effect on socioeconomic growth, the input of industrial land has a promoting effect but with decreasing marginal benefits. The suitability of traditional land allocation strategies emphasizing the supply of these three types of land has decreased. [Conclusion] Shrinking cities face the risks of “over-allocation” and “misallocation” of urban construction land. To address this, it is essential to control the scale of construction land, harmonize the relationship between population and construction land scale, and actively adjust the land use structure and optimize resource allocation. These measures will improve the efficiency of construction land and promote socioeconomic development.

[Objective] The contradiction between population shrinkage and construction land expansion is common in shrinking small and medium-sized cities. Analyzing the dynamic characteristics of construction land supply is an important basis for understanding the mechanism of change. [Methods] Using data from www.landchina.com, this study employed the propensity score matching model to choose control cities, and analyzed the dynamic characteristics of construction land supply in 71 shrinking small and medium-sized cities (that is, inter-group differences). Then, based on panel clustering analysis, this study explored the differential characteristics of construction land supply within these shrinking small and medium-sized cities (that is, intra-group differences). Finally, this study used Logistic regression to analyze the potential factors contributing to inter-group and intra-group differences. [Results] (1) The construction land supply of shrinking small and medium-sized cities has the following outstanding characteristics compared with the control cities: a decreasing trend in the supply of construction land, a significant slowdown in price growth, an increasing trend of non-market-oriented supply, and a faster expansion of non-business and non-industrial land supply. Among them, the shrinking cities in Northeast China showed both the general land supply trends of shrinking cities, and regional characteristics of larger land supply scale generally at lower prices. (2) This study categorized the 71 shrinking small and medium-sized cities into three types: low-level supply cities, declining supply cities, and weak growth supply cities. Cities of the first type are mostly traditional agricultural cities, which had a lower level of construction land market development. Cities of the second type are mostly resource-based industrial decline cities, which had a declining construction land market. Cities of the third type mostly experience population outflow within a growing region, which had a stable construction land market but a risk of decline. (3) Demand factors such as population and industrial development are the main factors contributing to inter-group differences, while intra-group differences are mainly associated with government supply factors and the level of industrial development. [Conclusion] Shrinking small and medium-sized cities exhibit both common features and internal diversity and differences in construction land supply. While the construction land supply can be temporarily changed by local governments, it tends to return to the actual level determined by the development conditions over a longer period. Therefore, the population-land use growth paradox in these cities will be corrected to some extent. Based on the conclusion, this article also proposed some policy recommendations for the spatial planning and urban renewal of shrinking small and medium-sized cities.

This paper aims to research different strategies for developing the green economy in shrinking cities. Considering urban shrinkage and the green economy as two extended concepts, a French town in post-Fordist transition and a Mexican post-mining town are selected as the most diverse/similar systems to indicate different strategies for sustainable development in shrinking cities. Embedded into different national backgrounds, including urban dynamics and support schemes for the green economy, the selected cases share the objectives of greening and regrowing strategies relying on other sectors of the green economy. The methodology applied is qualitative, including fieldwork, semi-structured interview techniques, carried out in person or remotely, and questionnaires. Findings show some positive results regarding sustainability and ecological transition in the French case, while regrowth trends were reached in the Mexican case. However, the analysis leads to uncertain scenarios for positive long-term impacts, especially due to uncertainty around future supporting policies for territorial cohesion and sustainability at national and regional levels.

Urban shrinkage has emerged as a worldwide concern, which is increasingly prevalent in developing countries like China, particularly in medium-sized cities (MSCs). Compared to large cities and counties, MSCs find themselves in a national policy blind spot and have been neglected both in policy and research. Previous studies, based on population changes, have shown that urban shrinkage in China is not severe. However, urban shrinkage is not just about population decline, and it has not been adequately discussed from a multi-dimensional perspective. This paper adopts a multi-dimensional model, considering population, economy, and space dimensions to analyze shrinkage patterns in 164 MSCs in China from 2010 to 2020. Findings reveal that 6.1% of MSCs experienced population shrinkage, and 24.4% faced shrinkage in economic or spatial dimensions. Shrinking MSCs are spatially distributed in the Northeast as well as in the areas surrounding large cities. Industrial restructuring, job losses, and healthcare disparities contribute to urban shrinkage, and the impact of aging will be further felt. As large cities consistently attract population and resources and digitization has dramatically affected population mobility, more MSCs will shrink in the future. This paper contributes to the understanding of shrinkage of MSCs among scholars and policymakers, urging a shift towards more balanced and digital urban governance.

Shrinking cities are seen as places with poor development prospects, as places that should adjust to given future realities of shrinkage. However, because the future is open to many alternative possibilities, shrinking cities also have a variety of alternative futures to which earlier research has paid less attention. This study aims to identify and analyse the alternative future development trajectories of shrinking cities. In this study, the futures research method called futures wheel is utilized to analyse possible future consequences of 24 different forces of change that can steer the future development of shrinking cities. By combining the futures wheel method with qualitative data from eight shrinking Finnish cities, we can reveal possible future development paths that may result from the forces. Overall, our results show that shrinking cities have various alternative future development trajectories leading to various outcomes. Some of the forces may intensify the current negative effects caused by urban shrinkage. By contrast, other forces can radically change future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban shrinkage has emerged as a widespread phenomenon globally and has a significant impact on land, particularly in terms of land use and price. This study focuses on 2851 county-level cities in China in 2005–2018 (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and 'no data' areas in Qinhai-Tibet Plateau) as the fundamental units of analysis. By employing nighttime light (NTL) data to identify shrinking cities, the propensity score matching (PSM) model was used to quantitatively examine the impact of shrinking cities on land prices, and evaluate the magnitude of this influence. The findings demonstrate the following: 1) there were 613 shrinking cities in China, with moderate shrinkage being the most prevalent and severe shrinkage being the least. 2) Regional disparities are evident in the spatial distribution of shrinking cities, especially in areas with diverse terrain. 3) The spatial pattern of land price exhibits a significant correlated to the economic and administrative levels. 4) Shrinking cities significantly negatively impact on the overall land price (ATT = −0.1241, P < 0.05). However, the extent of the effect varies significantly among different spatial regions. This study contributes novel insights into the investigation of land prices and shrinking cities, ultimately serving as a foundation for government efforts to promote the sustainable development of urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rozwój Regionalny & Polityka Regionalna is the property of Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza (IH UAM) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny (0035-9629) is the property of Adam Mickiewicz University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aims to identify and present mechanisms through which the economic potential of European urban areas is converted into social inequalities among the young population in the field of housing. The role of national and local housing systems in this conversion is analyzed through the examples of Amsterdam, Tallinn, Chemnitz, and Pécs. These four cities represent four major ideal types with different levels of economic power and housing welfare structures. The article, through these case studies, initially delineates the ramifications of increasing housing demand arising from population growth and varied wage structures in cities experiencing economic prosperity. It also delves into the repercussions of population decline and financial constraints in cities with weaker economic foundations. Subsequently, it evaluates the efficacy of local housing policies in addressing housing affordability and spatial segregation, considering the presence of either a unitary or dual public housing sector. The article’s conclusion underscores that local housing policies are tightly bound to national housing concepts, legislation, and resources, which constrains their capacity to adapt measures to the changing dynamics of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the impact of urbanization on agricultural development in shrinking areas is important for maintaining food security and promoted agricultural development in China. Based on the measurement results of the shrinking cities in the three provinces of Northeast China, this paper selects 15 shrinking cities as the research object, and constructs a multi-dimensional index system to explore the impact of the urbanization level of the shrinking areas on the agricultural development in the region since 2007–2019, analyzes the influencing factors and their differences by using the geographically-weighted regression model and Geodetector, and proposes a targeted regulation strategy. The results show that: 1) overall, there is a negative correlation between the urbanization level and the agricultural development level in the contracted areas of the three northeastern provinces. The urbanization level in these areas has a certain negative impact on the overall level of agricultural development; 2) regarding the time dimension, the impact of urbanization level on the agricultural development level in the contracted areas of the three northeastern provinces gradually increases over time; 3) regarding the spatial pattern, the overall impact of shrinking urbanization levels in the three provinces of Northeast China on the agricultural development shows a significant distribution pattern of high in the east and low in the west; 4) the total population and natural population growth rate at the end of the year were the main factors influencing a certain level of urbanization on agricultural development in the shrinking cities while population density and the urban fixed asset investment rate were the secondary factors; and 5) the main reasons why the level of agricultural development in different cities was affected by the level of urbanization were different. However, they can be categorized into areas of population loss and spatial construction, which can be further divided into area of population loss in the northeast, areas of negative population growth in the west, and areas of urban spatial change in the south. According to the causes of the impact, this paper adopted targeted regulation strategies and formulated relevant policies and solutions that cater to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of urban decline is widespread in Europe; however, in Spain, it was an isolated phenomenon, affecting a few deindustrialized cities during the crisis of the 1980s. In the second decade of the 21st century, it has affected more than a third of Spain's medium-sized cities that have experienced depopulation. Largely ignored at the political level, urban geography is beginning to address the issue. In general, the aging and loss of the working population correlates with the decline of these cities. However, four clusters show that the process is complex. A closer examination of five critical cases Cádiz, Ferrol, Jaén, Linares and Talavera de la Reina, shows that the industrial crisis is combined with the Great Recession and the decline of private services, simultaneously with an increase in the population over 65 and an emigration of skilled workers to the main metropolitan areas. This process, which has already raised citizens' awareness, should be included in the political agenda. The discussion of the article suggests some strategies for dealing with the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the article is to assess the scale and dynamics of shrinkage of cities in Russia and its regions in the post-Soviet period. Urban shrinkage analysis, based on the average annual index of population decrease according to population censuses, showed that these processes (at least during one of the intercensal periods) in total covered more than half of Russian cities. At the same time, in less than a third of centers, the average annual population decrease over the entire period exceeded 1%. In 1989–2002, the number of shrinking cities was quite small (less than a quarter), and during subsequent intercensal periods, it increased significantly, amounting to more than a third of all cities in the country by 2021. Analysis of the spatial distribution of urban shrinkage showed that these processes occurred at different stages, both at the expense of the resource cities in the northern and eastern territories of the country, and centers of old-developed regions, primarily the Non-Chernozem zone. Most shrinking cities are represented by small centers with populations of less than 50 000 people. With the general negative nature of population dynamics, there is a multidirectionality and variability of shrinkage trends in Russian cities. The specific features of shrinkage during each of the three intercensal periods and alternating phases of depopulation formed the basis for distinguishing six types of urban shrinkage trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To inform and operationalize an urban degrowth agenda, more systematic and larger-scale experimentation with degrowth practices is needed. The aim of this study was to explore the suitability of shrinking cities as testing grounds for urban degrowth practices. To answer this question, we analyzed two cases, both urban greening initiatives, located in the shrinking urban region of Parkstad Limburg, in the Netherlands. The cases show that in a shrinking city, with a large surplus of urban land and long-term vacancy and demolishing of buildings, there is literally abundant “room” to experiment with alternative ways and types of urban land use. There is also interest on the side of the local government in alternatives to the conventional approaches to urban planning and development. As both cases can be interpreted as “experiments with urban degrowth practices,” it can be concluded that shrinking cities offer ample opportunities for urban degrowth experiments. The lessons learned from the two studied cases are not very positive concerning the wider feasibility of the tested degrowth practices, but as experiments, the cases can be considered successful. This is because they provided a better understanding of the conditions required for the implementation and upscaling of these practices, also in growing cities. To inform and operationalize an urban degrowth agenda, we, therefore, recommend more research on cases in shrinking cities that can be interpreted and analyzed as experiments with urban degrowth practices.

The population of Finland will start to decline in the near future, and most Finnish municipalities are already losing population. Can the tools used for land-use planning, which are historically designed to guide and control growth, be used to guide shrinking? The shrinking city-region of Kotka-Hamina has drafted a city-regional strategic master plan to manage the shrinking. The master plan and its documents are analyzed, and interviews are used to better understand how the plan is trying to achieve its objectives. The master plan is currently growth-oriented and used as a tool for place marketing. According to the interviews, growth is not essential to implement the plan. As a tool, it strives to show the potential of the city-region. The master plan guides future land use to denser areas and enables industry. Learning from this case study, strategic land-use planning can be seen as a feasible tool to manage shrinking, and the master plan hints at how that might be done, although it does need improvement. Since land-use planning has country-specific characteristics, the research findings may not be directly transferable to other planning systems. However, the findings may offer ideas on how planning tools can be adapted to similarly challenging conditions. The possibility of what strategic spatial planning has to offer in a shrinking context should be researched more to enable the development of planning tools that would be more usable in shrinking conditions.

Continued population loss in the context of urban shrinkage has led to the transformation and reconfiguration of urban land use space, which in turn has had a major impact on regional habitats and ecosystem services. To explore the status of habitat quality (HQ) in shrinking cities, based on land use data from 2010 to 2020, this study uses the InVEST model to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of HQ in shrinking cities. Then, we reveal the shrinkage effect of HQ in shrinking cities from the perspective of population change rate, and detect the dominant influencing factors of HQ in different types of shrinking cities with the help of geographical detector. The results show that:(1) From 2010 to 2020, the primary land use types in both shrinking and non-shrinking cities of the three northeastern provinces were forestland and cropland. However, there were significant differences in the area of construction land between the two categories of cities. (2) The HQ in both shrinking and non-shrinking cities showed a declining trend, yet the HQ index of shrinking cities was higher than that of non-shrinking cities. (3) The distribution of HQ in shrinking cities has a significant shrinkage effect, and HQ index gradually strengthens as urban shrinkage intensifies. Low-quality habitats have a strong distributional advantage in slightly shrinking cities, while severely shrinking cities tend to be dominated by high-quality habitats. (4) Population profile, economic development, industrial structure and built environment are important factors influencing the spatial heterogeneity of HQ in shrinking cities. However, the spatial determinants of HQ vary significantly among different types of shrinking cities in terms of dimensions and indicators, with two-factor interactions exerting a stronger influence than single-factor impacts. Based on the findings of this study, the government can formulate differentiated habitat protection measures, dynamically adjust, and optimize them according to the distribution characteristics of HQ grades in shrinking cities.

Shrinking cities scholars claim that planning actors in the cities where shrinking is accepted are more likely to change the focus of planning strategy from pursuing growth to actively planning for de-growth. Considering this argument, this article investigates to what extent planning actors in shrinking cities seek solutions outside the dominant growth paradigm if they accept the reality of shrinkage. This is accomplished by examining the comprehensive plans of 18 shrinking cities in the Rust Belt area of the US and establishing relations between the interpretations of urban decline expressed in these planning documents and the resulting planning visions and strategies. The findings demonstrate that although planning actors in most analysed cases accepted urban shrinkage as a reality and adopted a vision of a smaller future city, they mainly devised strategies that facilitate growth. This suggests that urban planning may be far less impacted by specific interpretations of shrinkage, including acceptance, than what is popularly believed to be the case. Instead, growth remains a focal point of most planning efforts in shrinking cities, even when planning actors acknowledge it may not be realistically attainable.

Transformative climate adaptation is argued to reduce underlying vulnerability whilst adapting to impacts. However, transformative actions may face resistance in post-industrial shrinking city contexts. Resources to act may be limited and social, cultural and economic links to high-emitting industries make conversations on climate action difficult. This paper assesses how transformative adaptation may be initiated in a post-industrial shrinking city, by evaluating the former coal mining city of Yubari in Hokkaido, Japan. Interviews with organisations and a residents’ discussion group assess how citizens of Yubari experience social and environmental changes. A review of policies that support transformative adaptation in Yubari is undertaken. Although strong ties to Yubari’s mining identity have constrained discussion on climate action, the need to physically shrink the city’s size and engage third-sector organisations beyond local government created opportunities for transformative actions that also support adaptation. The findings support the existing shrinking cities literature. Place attachment can energise residents to take action and defend their locality against the worst effects of urban shrinkage. This highlights the value of intermediary organisations outside local government in initiating discussions on transformative actions towards climate adaptation. Policy relevance The study contributes a climate adaptation angle to applied research and practice for cities facing demographic or economic shrinkage. Shrinkage can initiate transformative and disruptive actions, but limited resources can make it difficult for urban planners and environmental policymakers to promote resilience. The findings from Yubari show that planning decisions can reduce vulnerability from hazards and enhance resilience to shocks and stresses by reducing the physical footprint of the city and engaging third-sector organisations in managing the natural environment. When trust in local governments is low because of a perceived failure to anticipate problems of shrinkage, then intermediary organisations are needed to facilitate dialogue with citizens on significant changes to place that enable transformative adaptation.

Contemporary demographic processes involving the decline and aging of the population and the accompanying economic crisis in many cities around the world are referred to as shrinking. The causes and effects of this phenomenon are still insufficiently explained. The article investigates the financial effects of shrinking on the budgets of Polish cities. The article aims to indicate how the loss of inhabitants may affect the city’s economy, and thus the city’s budget, and to identify and assess differences between selected budget categories in shrinking cities and in those cities that have not experienced the problem of depopulation. First, a literature review was conducted, followed by a financial analysis of the budgets of shrinking cities, which was supplemented with a comparative analysis of the selected revenues and expenditures of budgets of cities that were not undergoing the shrinking process. The research period covered the years 2018–2022. As the analyses show, the way in which cities’ demographic problems impact their financial situation occurs through the economy, the condition of which in the era of knowledge-based economies depends on human capital resources. The financial analysis of selected budget indicators allowed us to conclude that shrinking cities had much lower budget revenues per capita, lower revenue independence, and lower budget expenditures. The opposite situation was observed in the case of expenditure on benefits for natural persons, the higher level of which in shrinking cities confirmed the need for greater involvement of cities in financing social policy.

The inner core of Sombor, known as “Venac”, is probably the best-preserved one among medium-sized cities in Serbia. The stagnation of Sombor during the 20th century and its urban shrinkage in the 21st century have prevented significant transformations of the core, enabling its preservation under state protection as an urban heritage site. However, the recent rise of cultural tourism has triggered urban regeneration. As the city is still unprepared for this change, this regeneration has mostly omitted the inner core. Realising this, local representatives and experts have started rethinking innovative approaches to its regeneration, including the concept of Albergo Diffuso. This sustainable concept is created to revive the historic cores of small, shrinking cities and towns. Basically, it represents a hotel situated in several old buildings dispersed throughout a historic urban fabric, fitting perfectly into the regeneration of Venac. However, the current lack of precise spatial indicators and thresholds makes their incorporation into the planning process challenging. Considering this, this study focuses on the current spatial development of tourism in Venac, analysing the elements that would support and facilitate the application of this concept in the future. This article also proposes a set of new planning measures to support a strategically organised approach—from the emphasis on urban reuse and physical renewal to multileveled linking of basic concept conditions to the prioritization of pedestrian-friendly places and the application of innovative urban design in open public spaces. By connecting the selected Albergo Diffuso approach with spatial development and its analysis, this study also contributes to the spatial imprint of the concept’s implementation.

Loïc Wacquant's work on the production and reproduction of socio‐spatial inequalities in Chicago and La Courneuve has inspired a literature on how imaginaries of low‐income, often racialized neighborhoods are spread through discourse and policy, and how residents respond to the stigmatization of their neighborhoods through internalization, deflection or resistance. While this body of scholarship has almost exclusively focused on the marginalization of urban neighborhoods, I argue in this article that the process of 'territorial stigmatization' analyzed by Wacquant also operates at the level of entire cities and subnational regions, with comparable political outcomes: the shifting of attention away from the structural causes of poverty onto its symptoms and, ultimately, the normalization and exacerbation of inequalities between people and places. Drawing on eight months of ethnographic fieldwork in Nevers, I analyze the stigmatizing imaginaries surrounding 'declining medium‐sized cities' in France and how they affect residents' experience of place. The article contributes to the debate on the internalization/contestation of territorial stigma by showcasing the efforts of Nevers residents to restrict local critical discourse to insiders. It also adds to the literature on resistance through place re‐scription strategies by emphasizing the role played by the physical characteristics of place within alternative narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following reunification after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the eastern German city of Dessau lost population and entire industrial sectors to the more dynamic economies of western Germany, leaving behind a glut of vacant and derelict properties. Dessau's planners proscribed their demolition, replacing them with a greenway surrounding neighbourhoods as water does an archipelago that has substantially increased biodiversity but has failed, despite the city's encouragement, to attract community support. This paper explores what adjustments might be necessary for the archipelago model to be more readily adopted by other shrinking cities and new urban developments worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the strategies for reviving urban greening in post-industrial landscapes through nature-based solutions (NbSs). The case of Turin was selected to investigate peri-urban farming practices at the old FIAT premises in the Mirafiori Sud area. Starting in the 2010s, the City of Turin launched new urban regeneration projects to transform degraded post-industrial landscapes into creative urban living labs (ULLs) for experimentation. The data were collected by reviewing the literature available from public sources, including project documents (deliverables, public reports, MOOC content, scientific articles, etc.). Interviews and focus groups with policymakers (municipality), volunteers (NGOs), and inhabitants were carried out to gather insights as primary sources. A qualitative thematic analysis was adopted to determine how NbS can be a force for enhancing multi-functionality in post-industrial areas by incorporating ULLs and green tourism as a co-creation model to connect with nature. The results showed that (1) Mirafiori Sud became a remarkable hub for co-creation projects to foster the transformation of brownfields into experimentation sites capable of hosting sustainable and inclusive solutions, (2) regenerative art practices in shared spaces play a crucial role in community engagement, (3) the support for urban agriculture initiatives could improve the ability of cities to provide alternative food (and cultural) networks. In sum, NbSs drive change in urban landscapes and promote green tourism via agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]