The Trap Within Anticipated Regrowth : Two Sides of Strategic Response to Urban Decline in Leipzig

Abstract

Although a considerable body of literature on shrinking cities has been produced in the recent years, a majority is focused on the experiences of declining industrial regions from the Global North. Nonetheless, these cases still hold a significant basis for understanding a range of manifestations of urban decline and could also serve as important frameworks for evaluating effectiveness of urban governance models. Thus, the research presented in this paper focuses on the well-known case of Leipzig, which has been represented as a prime example of urban decline in Europe for decades. Through analysis of secondary literature sources, various urban redevelopment frameworks, and media coverage, this study contributes two major insights on strategic response to decline in Leipzig. First, many opportunities that national and international subsidy programmes offered, alongside with entrepreneurial urban governance managed to provide a locally adapted strategic framework that precipitated the return towards the trajectory of urban growth. Second, although the major growth objectives were finally achieved, the example of strategic planning in Leipzig also showed a general lack of preparedness in local governance with regards to considering and dealing with a broader spectrum of challenges that often occur alongside rapid urban regrowth.