Shrinking cities in Australia, Japan, Europe and the USA: From a global process to local policy responses

Abstract

Shrinking cities can be considered as one of the most critical challenges of contemporary urban societies. Recently, this phenomenon has been the subject of growing interest both in terms of research and from an urban policy point of view. In this paper we argue that urban shrinkage and policy responses depend on the combination of global processes and local configurations. Based on a study of shrinking cities in Australia, Japan, Germany, the UK, France and the USA, this paper first aims to explore the global process of urban shrinkage in different contexts. While the phenomenon is global it is anchored at the local level and subject to particular manifestations. After analyzing the general trends of urban shrinkage in the six countries considered, the second aim of this paper is to study the way in which policies implemented in shrinking cities differ in the various national contexts. This symposium argues that policy responses need to consider both the global forces behind shrinkage and the local context where particular characteristics are found. There are however three common areas where local actors in shrinking cities tend to focus their strategies and programs: community resilience; urban regeneration strategies; and tackling the social effects of urban shrinkage.