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PhD Academy |
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SHRINKING CITIES INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH NETWORK |
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“Shrinking Cities: A New Label for an Old City Divide?” ACSP/AESOP Joint Congress, July 6 -11, Chicago, IL, Chicago Marriot Downtown Magnificent Mile Thursday, July 10, 12:00pm - 1:00pm Room: 10th Floor, Marriott Hotel, Water Tower |
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PROGRAM Shrinking Cities in the E.U. French Cases Hélène ROTH, CNRS, University of Rennes II, France. Abstract: In France, the divide among cities is growing - with three interacting factors: size, region and economic specialization (Paulus, 2004). Urban decline concerns small cities located in the middle of the country as well as a few larger urban areas, which used to be specialized in mining, heavy industries or port activities (map). Saint-Etienne belongs to this last type and it is one of the largest French shrinking cities. Saint-Etienne –situated 60km from Lyon, in a coal basin - is suffering from a reputation of ‘black city’, referring to its former mining activities. For local authorities, re-imaging the city is a cause for concern since several decades (Vant, 1981) and it became a very central issue of urban policies from the end of the 1990’s. The results of the 1999 census, giving evidence of the demographic decline (the population decreased by 10% in nine years), have been the catalyst for the definition of an ambitious strategy aiming to break with regressive evolutions. But in some aspects, the implemented strategy tends to confirm the standardization of regeneration policies in old-industrial cities, leading to discussable long-term impacts and efficiency (Boland, 2006).
Marie-Fleur ALBECKER, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon - Sorbonne, Ecole Normale Supérieure. Paris’ first suburbs and globalization: an (ir)resistible decline? Abstract: Paris and its region, as a “global city region”, has been subject to the challenges outlined by the “global cities” theories such as decline of the centre, rise of secondary centres, increased social and spatial inequalities. This paper deals with the specific case of Paris’ border towns, which are in between the centre and its periphery. Facing manifestations of decline, they have tried to address them with specific strategies.
German Cases Betka ZAKIROVA, Freie & Humboldt University, Berlin. Shrinkage at the urban fringe: Case studies in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan Region Abstract: Shrinkage in suburbia − that is, beyond the core city’s boundary and within the edge of developed land − has not been widely researched yet. Hence I am studying communities and towns in Berlin’s suburbs in order to explore underlying general principles of (sub-)urban shrinkage and regeneration. The results may help to set appropriate strategies for city planners and governments – addressing shrinkage without panic, as an opportunity as well as a problem.
Daniel FORENTIN, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon - Sorbonne, Ecole Normale Supérieure. The 'perforated city': Leipzig model of urban shrinkage management Abstract: Leipzig is not a recent shrinking city and has been continuously shrinking since 1966. However, the post-socialist transition accelerated this phenomenon up to create the image of a “perforated city” (Lütke Daldrup, 2001), characterized by the loss of population in a double movement of urban sprawl and demographic decline (Nuissl&Rink, 2004). Unlike other cities like Dresden in Eastern Germany, Leipzig’s authorities decided at an early stage to cope with shrinkage and perforation. They tried to implement various methods to profit from it and build the image of a dynamic and sustainable city, aimed at becoming a model of urban shrinkage management. Rather than a new management, this has also become a new image policy, based on the traditional rhetoric of rebirth and urban regeneration (Colomb, 2006). Three main axes were to be identified: the preservation of the architectural heritage, which is considered as a kind of trademark of the city, the creation of green spaces, which are supposed to replace destructed housing estates, and the support of hierarchic centres policies on a micro-scale. This would however lead to some conflicts with land owners about land use (Röβler, 2006) and might emphasize a social and spatial differentiation in a context of territorial competitions and polarisations. This case study based on empirical studies (qualitative interviews of actors of the process) and statistical data will discuss whether this overwhelming strategy based on image could be the Maya’s veil hiding a lack of influence and financial power of the Leipzig planning system (Bernt, 2005).
Shrinking Cities in the U.S. Sophie BUHNIK, Université Paris 1 - Panthéon - Sorbonne, Ecole Normale Supérieure. Abstract: Baltimore (Maryland, USA) and Osaka (Kinki, Japan) are two large harbour cities that belong to two of the most developed industrialized countries. Despite the extremely different socio-economic, cultural and political settings that characterize Northern-American and Japanese modern cities, Baltimore and Osaka share a number of interesting similarities, regarding their historical development or their position within the urban hierarchy of their respective nations. Furthermore, both Baltimore’s and Osaka’s metropolitan areas are currently experiencing processes of urban shrinkage, which are the produce of strong economic restructurings combined with population losses. However, while Baltimore City is continuously shrinking since the end of the Second World War (Cohen, 2001, urban shrinkage is more recent in Osaka (Hatta, 2006). A comparison between Baltimore’s and Osaka’s demographic declines and economic changes will show that the factors leading to urban shrinkage, although analogous, were bound together in clearly distinct ways. Then, a delimitation of the areas with the highest population losses will highlight the deeply divergent impacts of urban shrinkage inside each agglomeration : it is indeed Baltimore’s inner city on the one hand, and Osaka’s distant peripheries on the other hand, that are coping with the biggest demographic decreases. Such contrasts in the localization of urban decline may be the consequence of specific urban sprawl processes that took place in Japan and the USA. The aim of this paper is to present a characterization of Baltimore’s and Osaka’s most declining areas. It is a prerequisite, if we want to compare the social and spatial issues that shrinkage might raise to the residents who are still living in these areas.
Laura SCHATZ, School of Planning, University of Waterloo. Innovation in the face of population decline: “Smart shrinkage” in Youngstown, Ohio. Abstract: In the context of massive economic restructuring, increasing globalization, and unprecedented social and demographic change, a growing number of cities in industrialized countries such as the United States, Canada, and Germany are experiencing population decline. Shrinking cities throughout the world have used a variety of strategies to deal with economic and demographic decline. In general, strategies to deal with shrinkage have tended to focus on reversing economic decline by attracting foreign investment, ignoring, and often worsening, social conditions. In light of this, it is increasingly being recognized that sustainable urban regeneration can only occur when physical, economic, environmental, and social concerns are addressed in a comprehensive manner. In the face of sustained population decline, Youngstown, Ohio, has chosen a strategy that has been deemed “innovative” and “revolutionary.” The strategy, laid out in its recently-adopted Youngstown 2010 Citywide Plan, is one of “smart shrinkage” which means accepting that Youngstown is a smaller city and planning for it as such. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data, this presentation examines the major features of the Youngstown 2010 plan and evaluates whether this “innovative” strategy is likely to lead to sustainable urban regeneration. Wrap Up Sabina UFFER, London School of Economics, Political Science. Understanding Shrinking Processes - What does Regulation Theory tell us? Abstract: The consequences of shrinking cities suffering from economic stag¬nation and a population decline have become more and more a focus of urban research. Why do these shrinking cities emerge? What role do national and local government play? In this theoretical essay, I argue that a local and a state theoretical approach of regulation theory helps to better understand the causes of shrinking cities. Regulation theory, originally developed in a national context, has been increasingly used to explain the changing role of cities by analyzing the interdependencies between economic, social and political changes. Discussing the relevant concepts, the essay shows how a local ap¬proach of regulation theory helps analyzing shrinking cities as the re¬sult of the uneven development of regions. Furthermore, I argue that a state theoretical approach presents a way to examine the state’s role within this uneven spatial development. Thus, by bringing regulation theory into the shrinking cities literature, the phenomenon of shrink¬ing cities can be put into a wider context of economic and political restructuring. |
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Moderator: Ivonne Audirac, Florida State University, USA Discussants: Sergio Moraes, Itajaí Valley University (Univali), Brazil, Jasmin Aber, Institute of Urban and Regional Research, UC-Berkeley, USA, and Hélène ROTH, CNRS, University of Rennes II, France. Time Manager: |
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