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Mega-retail-led regeneration in the shrinking city: Panacea or placebo?
Abstract
One of the governance responses to urban shrinkage and the accompanying problems of city centre decline is mega-retail-led regeneration. It is a common regeneration tool that can, on one hand, create a popular shopping centre, but on the other hand, produce negative impacts on the city centre structures. Eventually, it can produce effects similar to urban shrinkage itself, the consequences of which should be reversed. This paper examines at the micro-spatial level the changing nature of selected services in the centre of the shrinking city of Ostrava, focusing primarily on analysing, identifying, and assessing the impacts of mega-retail-led regeneration represented by the development of the New Karolina shopping centre built within the historical city centre. Additionally, this text extends evidence of the impacts of such regeneration schemes and discusses their suitability in the case of shrinking cities.
... Over the last two centuries, Ostrava developed as a polycentric city with a fragmented urban structure. The city of Ostrava has witnessed persistent population loss since 1990 (a decrease of nearly 14%) and although deindustrialization is considered a main cause of the shrinkage, the city still retained its specialization in traditional industries [62]. Rather than unemployment, the air pollution resulting from industrial activity is currently one of the strong push-away factors which led to suburbanization and outward migration to the capital city (Prague) [62,63]. ...
... The city of Ostrava has witnessed persistent population loss since 1990 (a decrease of nearly 14%) and although deindustrialization is considered a main cause of the shrinkage, the city still retained its specialization in traditional industries [62]. Rather than unemployment, the air pollution resulting from industrial activity is currently one of the strong push-away factors which led to suburbanization and outward migration to the capital city (Prague) [62,63]. Ostrava can be described as a triple city [64], with three cores: Poruba; Ostrava-Jih; and the central district Moravská Ostrava a Přívoz (with 36,675 inhabitants [61]), where the historical center is situated (Figure 1). ...
... As the remaining retail is primarily supported by those working in the city center, and not by the residents, the main streets of Ostrava appear to be empty, especially on weekends. From 2006 to 2016, mainly due to the opening of the adjacent Nová Karolina Shopping Centre (NKSC), the number of vacant units sharply increased, along with a 20% decrease of active retail units [62]. ...
This research assesses the way main streets are perceived and used by pedestrians in an industrial, Central-European city—Ostrava in Czechia. The city has recently experienced shrinkage and changing patterns of socio-economic exchange, reason why this research is timely and needed in view of city center regeneration. Four main streets have been purposefully selected for this study. The research methods include questionnaires with street users (n = 297), direct observations of human activities and pedestrian counting. A link between business types and the way the street is experienced emerged. Results also indicate that vacant and unproperly managed spaces negatively affect the desire to walk on main streets. Furthermore, pedestrian volumes coupled with the amount of static activities determined several benchmark conditions for lively street segments. This research provides recommendations for policy-making and design and planning practice for regeneration of industrial city centers undergoing commercial and spatial transformation.
... On the one hand, many scholars focus on the topics like urban politics, governance policy, institutional roles, community initiatives, and retail economy to promote complicated social and economic interactions [10][11][12][13]. Particularly, retail, as an approach to urban regeneration, has raised much attention in recent years [1,[14][15][16]. With the transformation of the role of old urban districts from production to consumption [14], cultivating a vibrant retail sector in such areas can not only create jobs, increase taxation, and meet the everyday needs of the locals, but also beautify the urban image and attract tourists. ...
... Particularly, retail, as an approach to urban regeneration, has raised much attention in recent years [1,[14][15][16]. With the transformation of the role of old urban districts from production to consumption [14], cultivating a vibrant retail sector in such areas can not only create jobs, increase taxation, and meet the everyday needs of the locals, but also beautify the urban image and attract tourists. Under the context of fine governance and the awareness of the "human-centered" concept, numerous small and medium-sized retail stores related to people's livelihood act as a lively reflection of social reality and economic vitality. ...
The streetscapes of old urban districts record the changes in urban space and the vitality of socio-economic entities like storefronts. However, prior studies of urban vitality have preferred the demand end of crowd agglomeration to the supply end of commercial businesses, while the refined application of street-view images (SVIs) and the spatial heterogeneity resulting from sectional differences among elements deserve further research. Under this context, this paper took both the alive and the closed storefronts as the objects and developed an analytical framework based on machine learning and SVIs to analyze the characteristics of the streetscape and the economic vitality, followed by a regression analysis between them with a multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model. Our findings comprise three aspects: (1) despite the sum of the storefronts being more often used, combining the alive and the closed businesses is beneficial to reflect the real economic vitality; (2) as a reflection of the spatial heterogeneity and sectional differences of elements, the asymmetric streetscape has a significant influence on the economic vitality; and (3) although different factors from the streetscape can influence economic vitality differently, based on varied proxies of the vitality, three factors, namely, higher difference value of the signboards, higher sum of glass interfaces, and lower difference value of the glass interfaces, can benefit the economic vitality. This research can support urban physical examination and the regeneration of old urban districts for urban planners, designers, and decision-makers, and provide new perspectives and proxies as well as a more fine-grained analysis among the traditional studies on economic vitality.
... Consequently, in the last two decades, the urban shrinkage process has been one of the most frequently discussed topics in urban research (Slach et al., 2020), as part of a growth-based research agenda (Großmann et al., 2013). In the case of Europe, shrinking cities have been analysed (Bontje & Musterd, 2012;Döringer et al., 2020;Haase, Athanasopoulou, & Rink, 2016;Haase, Bernt, et al., 2016;Neill & Schlappa, 2016;Wolff & Wiechmann, 2018), concluding that there are myriad forms of shrinkage (Haase, Bernt, et al., 2016). ...
... Planners have typically responded to population decline by initiating economic development strategies, but this conventional approach has failed in many places. For example, Slach et al. (2020) criticise the efficacy of mega-retail-led regeneration as a response to urban shrinkage and the accompanying problems of city centre decline. In China, nonetheless, the development zone policy in shrinking cities may recover the initial efficiency loss, while curbing population loss in the future . ...
In Europe, urban shrinkage has emerged as a prominent and concerning phenomenon. It is affecting an increasingly large number of cities, particularly small and medium-sized ones. Nonetheless, the dynamics and causes vary at national level. It is a recent process in Spain, although in the 21st century, and especially since the great recession, the number of shrinking medium-sized cities has expanded. This evolution is yet to be sufficiently addressed in the literature, and, in politics and the media, it has been overshadowed by rural depopulation. The aim of this study is to shed light on what is happening in shrinking medium-sized cities, based on the case of Spain. To do so, we combine multiple demographic and socioeconomic variables with depopulation. The correlational analysis reveals a link between depopulation and ageing due to the fall in the potential working population, while births and the population aged below 16 years decreases and that aged over 65 years increases. Additionally, depopulation is correlated with the loss of working population, although no significant correlations can be established between depopulation and the economic variables considered. Drawing on the relationships identified, we established a statistically significant multiple linear regression model. This article represents a novel contribution that may be of practical use for policymakers.
... This decline affects cities around the world. The literature focuses on shrinking cities in the United States [9], the European Union [10], and Japan [11,12]. The articles have been published in numerous scientific journals since 2012. ...
... The SC "A" see that in Krško in the next10 years the number of members of the cohort aged 15-65 years will decrease from 48,465 persons in 2020 to about 43,891 persons in 2030, i.e., by 9.4% (the baseline scenario). Among them, we have 67% active workers, others are students and people in various other contractual relationships that are not suitable for these activities of SC. ...
Urban shrinkage is a remarkable phenomenon that cannot be convincingly explained by existing theories on urban growth and is closely linked to the global supply chain (SC) nodes in the labour market. This paper shows how a municipality in which an activity SC cell (production or service) is located as a node in the SC graph can be made more attractive for industrial activities and human resources, more sustainable, and less shrinking, through appropriate tax policies and investments in the infrastructure of the central places—cities where production or services are located. To this end, we developed the decision support model for the joint control of urban rightsizing by SC managers and local authorities. In the model we linked the extended material requirements problem (MRP) with a normalised asymmetric gravity model. The paper outlines how local authorities and institutions, when planning for the growing intensity of production or services, in a city where the number of workers is insufficient, should take into account the impact of taxation as well as investment in the infrastructure of a municipality, and not just net wages, in order to attract human resources. They need a decision support model for their negotiations on the rightsizing of the city. The objective was to develop a model of fiscal mechanisms in the interactive decision making processes of local authorities and SC managers to control the availability of labour in the city where production or services are running and need to grow because SC managers want to increase production or services but the available labour force is shrinking. A case study in Slovenia shows how local authorities and SC managers should work together to maintain a sustainable activity cell in a functional region of the urban agglomeration where this production or service is located. It models how to plan the rightsizing. Such an integrated policy best achieves the desired intensity of the supply chain, thereby avoiding the relocation of activities outside the region, which allows unsustainable flows of human resources and uncontrolled shrinking of a city or region.
... Table 3 shows a monitoring of the mechanisms used to deal with the various changes of commercial activity. Source: based on: [9,19,24,33,34] As deduced from Table 3, the most influential urban mechanisms of functional requalification at four type and developing principles of spatial planning. As for all Legislative mechanisms, aim to regulate competition between old and new pattern activities and enhance the vitality and viability of city centers, and avoid market saturation. ...
... The core-periphery feature may also be related to the market competition rate and the economic conditions of the areas closer to the city center. This is due to the fact that the local commercial amenities, such as restaurants, retail, and other sorts, in the urban core have been reasonably well developed, and micro-regeneration is not sufficient to provide functional additions to these areas (Slach et al., 2020). However, enhancing the quality of the built environment only has a marginal impact on the neighborhood commercial vitality of a city's core areas. ...
Purpose
Micro-regeneration can effectively enhance a neighborhood’s commercial vitality and serve as a viable approach to boost economic benefits. However, the small scale of micro-regeneration efforts and the fragmented nature of information currently limit the availability of strong empirical evidence demonstrating its impact on neighborhood commercial vitality. The aim of the study was to examine the link between micro-regeneration and neighborhood commercial vitality, focusing on the average, time-lag, spatial spillover, and spatial heterogeneity effects.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the panel data set of 1,755 neighborhoods in Chongqing from 2016 to 2021 as the research sample, the difference-in-differences (DID) method was employed in this study to explore the impact micro-regeneration has on neighborhood commercial vitality.
Findings
The results illustrate that: (1) micro-regeneration can promote neighborhood commercial vitality in terms of the number and types of local consumption amenities by 27.76 and 5.89%, respectively, with no time-lag effect; (2) the positive spillovers can exist within the range of 5,000 meters–5,500 meters of regenerated neighborhoods; and (3) the effect of micro-regeneration on neighborhood commercial vitality can be greater in peripheral areas than in core areas of the city.
Originality/value
The findings fill the knowledge gap on the relationship between micro-regeneration and neighborhood commercial vitality. Additionally, the results on the time-lag effect, spatial spillover effects, and spatial heterogeneity provide practical implications that can support the government and private sector in developing temporal and spatial arrangements for micro-regeneration projects.
... The presence of a mega-retailer has consequences on a city's local dynamics (Slach et al., 2020). First, they compete with one of the most important local businesses, that is, small retail businesses. ...
The aim of this paper is to study the impact of Walmart's entry on the survival of new and small retail businesses within non‐metropolitan areas in the province of Quebec. To do so, the study covers the years 1999–2007 and focuses on four non‐metropolitan cities. These include two Walmart entry cities, Rimouski and Salaberry‐de‐Valleyfield, and two other cities, where no Walmart was present during the study period, La Pocatière and Sorel‐Tracy. The results of a difference‐in‐differences analysis, conducted through a semi‐parametric Cox proportional hazards model, reveal that the entry of Walmart decreases the risk of closure of the new and small retail businesses.
... In this context, it is much more difficult for small municipalities located in regions undergoing significant structural change to find support for their projects. They have to compete within this region with large shrinking cities that face serious problems such as depopulation [56,57], the occurrence of large post-industrial and post-mining brownfields [58], and the impoverishment of the population and emergence of socially excluded localities [59,60]. Actors at both regional and central levels prioritise these issues, and smaller settlements are not given attention. ...
In the post-socialistic space, old, industrialised regions are not only dealing with problems with the regeneration of industrial brownfields but also with the occurrence of post-agricultural brownfields. The main objective of this paper is to identify and interpret how a successful network of cooperating actors was formed that participated in the process of transforming an agricultural brownfield into a successful rural business zone. From a methodological perspective, the article is based on the findings derived from a set of written memories with ten key actors who were involved in the redevelopment process. The studied regeneration project, which was implemented thanks to the successful cooperation of network of actors both from different hierarchical levels (local, regional and central level) and from the different sectors (public, private and non-profit sector), regenerated an area of 10.4 hectares thanks to both public and private investments of approximately CZK 240 million. Regeneration contributed to the creation of approximately 450 new jobs, and thanks to this project, the population in Třanovice also increased significantly in the transition period (1991–2021), which the studied community positively distinguishes from the shrinking urban centres and rural communities in the post-industrial neighbourhoods.
... They are defined by many different aspects, including building characteristics, which reflect the evolution of the urban expansion, as well as the historical and cultural development of the city [37]. Besides their central position relative to the surrounding urban areas and hinterlands, historical centers started to decline when they gradually lost their functions as urban hubs of gathering, transport, and commerce [58]. ...
A historical center can be defined as the oldest part of a city where a significant part of the building stock dates back to the early stages of urban growth. Historical centers often contain special urban fabrics with unique, historic, social and cultural identity. Owing to this, they have been subject to special urban planning interventions in order not only to protect the existing urban fabric and its originality, but also to revert depopulation and built deterioration processes aiming to make these old centers attractive and functional again. However, in the inter-urban domain, there is a deficit of spatial planning research, and the delimitation of historical centers is a topic that has been under explored. This paper describes a morphological approach for delimiting the historical center of Guarda, Portugal. Methodologically, the work uses building stock-age data from eight periods between <1919 to 2011 and is supported by both statistical and spatial analysis. Statistically, the urban evolution of the city was analyzed through threshold values and five novel building indexes. Spatially, the work involved disaggregated GIS analysis to map the evolution of built-up areas and to identify the consolidated urban areas. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to assess the influence of some parameters on the obtained boundary. Results indicated that the historical center of Guarda was consolidated in the 1960s and, since then, has been relatively unchanged. The obtained boundary shows a suitable spatial adjustment considering the consolidated urban area and the official boundary included in the Urban Rehabilitation Area.
... In this politico-economic climate, shrinking cities are faced with contradicting needs for more residents to maintain local amenities and for managing shrinkage, thus resorting to mixed strategies [39]. Meanwhile, some researchers find potential in traditional development instruments, such as residential attractiveness, gentrification, place marketing, for halting the population haemorrhage and brain drain, strengthening the financing of local infrastructure, countering suburban sprawl, etc., given proper policy design, such as employment integration, social housing, public transport, and pedestrian and cycling accessibility [40,41,[69][70][71][72]. ...
As a slow crisis, shrinkage is a situation where if actions are not taken to change things, a downward spiral or a long-term decline could happen. The complex, long-term nature of this crisis underlines the importance and potential of strategic approach. However, the conceptualisation of development strategy remains abstract, attributive, or focused on sectorial policies, lacking a view of their roles in the overall development. Against this context, this research investigates (1) how cities that have acknowledged shrinkage strategically organise degrowth, non-growth, and growth-promoting instruments in dealing with shrinkage, (2) what long-term development perspectives emerge out of their policies, and (3) what factors in the local context constrain their strategies. The empirical basis is a cross-national comparative case study between Den Helder and Zwickau, a Dutch and German midsize city, with a cross-sectorial view and a focus on the long-term aspects to reveal the conceptual structures of their strategies. This approach captures how and explains why the cities, as regional centres with similar attitudes towards shrinkage and comparable economic levels, adopt many similar policies but lean towards contrasting long-term perspectives—one strives to exit the crisis, the other has routinised coping with shrinkage and lacks the vision of a different future. Their differences stimulate reflection on the context and parameters for revitalisation, and their shared challenges underlines the need for theory development based on situated policymaking challenges and a more strategic approach in the development of shrinking cities.
... Shrinking cities might be a new phenomenon for countries of the global South. Whether a city is expanding or shrinking can be determined by its three primary functions: a center of gathering, transport, and commerce [1]. Cities have historically benefited from their hinterland areas due to their pivotal position in the aforementioned three functions. ...
A mega-industrial region is frequently the result of purposeful regional development policies. Mega-region development is a new form of rapid urbanization and economic growth that is stimulated by government infrastructure projects. The objective of this research is to examine how the core built-up area and population growth of Khulna city, Bangladesh are slowing relative to the periphery as a result of mega-regionalization. We describe the spatial transformation of the city using GIS and remote sensing for built-up area identification and two urban expansion indices–expansion intensity index and urban expansion differentiation index–for quantitative measurements. The findings indicate that the city's periphery is seeing a higher rate of land use change and population agglomeration than the core. Secondly, the development hotspots are located in the peripheral regions. This change is largely fuelled by conventional speculative land and housing development similar to most cities with growing economies, and not the result of becoming a mega-industrial region. The land use transformation at the regional level and the city’s periphery has catastrophic repercussions because of massive resettlement and depeasantization.
... The shopping center phenomenon currently belongs to one of the most significant manifestations of urban retail globalization not only in post-socialist Europe, but also in many other countries of the world. The point is not just in the specific appearance of shopping centers, but mainly in the economic, social, and cultural impact they have on the city and society [2]. One of the most fundamental impacts that the existence of shopping centers has is their influence over the change of long-term patterns of shopping behavior and shopping habits with most population groups [3][4][5][6][7]. ...
The aim of the paper is to critically evaluate the similarities and differences in the development of the temporal and spatial structure of shopping centers in the Czech and Slovak republics. We focused on the retail transformation and sustainable manifestations of the location and construction of shopping centers. We classified shopping centers according to their genesis, location in the city, and size of the gross leasable area. To analyze migration trends and geographic distribution characteristics of shopping centers in the capital cities of both countries (local level of analysis), we used spatial gravity and standard deviational ellipse. Generally, there is an analogous trend in the development of shopping centers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with a particular two- to four-year lag in Slovakia (west–east gradient). Despite this, we still perceive the demand for shopping centers in both countries as above average, and it is not declining. The construction of shopping centers, mainly in small towns, also indicates this trend. In Prague and Bratislava, the pattern of spatial expansion of shopping centers differs. Prague probably represents a more advanced phase of shopping center agglomeration. However, neither country has reached the state of clustering.
... In recent years, several papers on that matter have been published in the field of urban and spatial planning. The research concerned commercial areas in Romania [17], France [18], Germany [19], Turkey [20], The Czech Republic [21], England [22], Poland [23] and New Zealand [24]. These studies are particularly important as they relate to specific cities, streets and market squares. ...
Changes taking place in the spatial structure of trade in cities have been very dynamic in recent decades. The goal of the research was to determine the dynamics and direction of changes in shaping the traditional commercial structure of small towns, in the context of discount shops location. The subject matter of the research constituted more than ten towns in southern Poland. Traditional shops located there were analysed in terms of their location, the profile and length of their activity. Studies on global trade development processes are available, as well as detailed research results on individual trade assumptions. On the other hand, there is a research gap regarding studies involving the location of commercial buildings, especially in small towns. The research results are a valuable source of information for representatives of various scientific disciplines as well as city authorities. The presented research provides knowledge and constitutes the basis for further research for representatives of various research fields. The areas with the most intensive commercial activity in the last 30 years were correlated with the number of inhabitants. For a selected group of towns, their binding urban planning documentation was verified with respect to specifications facilitating or excluding the establishment of discount shops. The conclusions reached on the basis of the research do not confirm a popular view that discount shops have a negative effect on urban space. The performed analyses indicate that there is no simple relation between a discount shop location and the decreasing number of traditional shops in the investigated cities. The presented research results gain an additional advantage—they form an archive of the development of commerce structure in towns in the period starting with the fall of the centrally planned economy and finishing with the COVID–19 pandemic. The presented material forms a basis for further urban studies which will use the experience gained at this stage
... More recently, however, there has been a shift in understanding urban demographic decline as a relatively distinct process from the overall demographic decline and, as a process with causes that stretch beyond deindustrialization and second demographic transition. Such empirical studies have been conducted for various geographical settings: cities from various countries for the purpose of international comparisons [16,20,47], the whole spectrum of cities within a particular country [45,[48][49][50], and case studies of particular cities [51][52][53][54][55] or groups of cities within a specific country [28,[56][57][58][59]. ...
EU post-socialist countries are nowadays the epicenter of urban shrinkage, despite economic growth trajectories reported during the last decades. However, systematic assessments of urban shrinkage patterns for this part of the continent are surprisingly insufficiently addressed in the literature, and the relationship between urban demographic decline/growth and economic decline/growth is still to be understood. This paper first delivers a state-of-the-art of the peculiarities of urban shrinkage in East-Central EU countries. Secondly, it employs an analysis grid to assess severity, prevalence, persistence, speed and regional incidence of urban decline in Romania—one of the most affected post-socialist countries within the European Union. Thirdly, it explores the statistical association between urban shrinkage severity and economic growth, on one hand, and between urban shrinkage severity and municipality revenues, on the other. Results show that urban shrinkage is currently increasing in prevalence and severity among Romanian cities, thus continuing an alarming trend that started in 1990. Secondly, the results pinpoint a statistically significant association between demographic shrinkage, local economic output and municipalities’ own-source revenues. However, the size effects are rather weak, suggesting a more nuanced relationship between economic and demographic urban growth than that predicted by some theories of urban change.
... However, there is a local train station, and other public transport is within walking distance. To the south, the New Karolina shopping centre is located, negatively affecting the retail development in the historic centre of Ostrava [85]. ...
We aimed to explain the spatial distribution of information and communication technology (ICT) firms in the city of Ostrava as an example of a medium-sized, shrinking, polycentric industrial city. The primary research question was to what extent micro-geographic location factors affect the current spatial clustering of ICT firms in polycentric cities characteristic by relatively weak urbanization economies and mostly routine character of ICT activities. We analyse and test the effects of the urban form at the level of urban blocks and individual buildings (considering their height, technical condition, age and dominant function) on the clustering of ICT firms of various sizes and ownership statuses. The inquiry was based on a detailed field mapping (using ArcGIS Collector) of ICT firms and physical/functional characteristics of the buildings and their immediate surroundings. ICT firms are significantly spatially concentrated in the historic city centre and inner city. Spatial patterns of ICT firms focused on less knowledge-intensive, routine and/or lower value-added functions do not differ fundamentally from innovative firms developing new products. Preference of denser, walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods in urban cores/inner cities can be found in the group of firms focusing on routine functions: rather for larger than for smaller firms and domestic than foreign-owned firms.
... The pure introduction of industrial space has limited positive effects of economic recovery measures. Large-scale retail is not suitable for shrinking cities due to the increased polarization of urban areas and functions [62]. The dominant factors affecting the differentiation of rural poverty are labor, technology, land resources, and financial support. ...
To analyze the characteristics, influencing factors, and microscopic mechanisms of county-level city shrinkage, this paper uses a quantitative push-pull model to explore the shrinking counties of Shandong Province between 2000 and 2018. The measurement method formulates three research objectives. First, the shrinking intensity and characteristics are analyzed according to statistics about the average annual rate of population growth, the primary production proportion, and public expenditure. Second, the influence factors are explored. Living standards, industrial development, social input, and public resource indicators are selected to quantitatively identify the push factors and pull factors and the correlated relationship of how the factors influence the population decline using ridge regression. Finally, the circular feedback mechanism and push-pull effect of multiple factors are explained. How do the factors affect each other and which is the decisive factor shaping county shrinkage? The push-pull mechanism is analyzed using dynamic relationship testing and the Granger causality test. The results show that the shrinkage of county-level cities faces common problems, including lack of resources, slowing down of the economy, and declining cityscape quality of life, which are the push factors for the population decline. There are differentiated characteristics of shrinkage. There has not yet been a full-scale recession in Shandong Province in terms of the degree of shrinkage. The towns with population loss accounted for only 15.4%, and the loss of population was less than 10% in ten years. In terms of impact mechanisms, county economic strength has a nonlinear correlation to population migration. Some counties tend to shrink in population and society. The degradation of the cultural environment, quality of life, and social welfare highlight social shrinkage signs in counties. A healthy living environment, equal public services, and a slowing down of relative deprivation have become essential pull factors for migration. County governments should shift from economic growth to people’s well-being, balancing government governance, economic growth, cultural development, environmental protection, and improving the livability level, as they are important directions for improving shrinking counties’ resilience.
Las ciudades medias españolas han conocido en la segunda década del siglo XXI, entre 2011 y 2020, un novedoso fenómeno de despoblación que ya afecta a un tercio de ellas. Se trata de una situación preocupante que debe ser estudiada. El objetivo del artículo es hacerlo a través de un análisis correlacional entre la despoblación de estos núcleos urbanos y los procesos de envejecimiento y de suburbanización, factores claves en el decrecimiento urbano. Tras delimitar el objeto de estudio, las ciudades medias y sus áreas urbanas, se utiliza una metodología cuantitativa a partir de datos de la evolución del número de residentes y de la población mayor de 65 años del municipio central y de los habitantes de su área urbana. Se descubre que hay una relación correlacional entre la despoblación y el envejecimiento, pero no entre la despoblación y la suburbanización. Sin embargo, al hacer un análisis de dispersión aparecen ciudades medias donde el crecimiento de sus áreas urbanas sí tiene lugar, y otras que manifiestan un decrecimiento general, núcleo central y área urbana. La realidad del decrecimiento de las ciudades medias españolas es variable con respecto a la suburbanización, pero muy uniforme en correlación con el envejecimiento. El artículo pretende ser una herramienta de comprensión del proceso de decrecimiento urbano en España y tener una aplicación práctica para que se empiecen a desarrollar políticas relacionadas con este problema.
Considering the increase in inter-urban competition to attract financial resources through place-making policies and place branding, and the need to strengthen the urban competitiveness to attract these resources, the revitalization of the vulnerable historical districts is one of the challenging goals of contemporary urban planning. This article aims to formulate strategies for regenerating the historical neighborhood of Zarch city, Iran, using the Meta-SWOT methodology. Because the method is expert-based, 20 experts in urban planning and management participated in this research to provide the required data. Some of the most essential strategies according to the fitness of resources and capabilities with external factors and with the goals of urban regeneration in the historical district of Zarch city extracted in this research are as follow: Utilizing historical buildings to expand tourism capacities and empower low-income groups; Attracting private sector investment through place branding policies and promoting the economic potential of historical district; Strengthening the urban transportation network; Creating a desirable image through social media; strengthening public infrastructures to empower low-income groups; utilizing social media to attract international tourists and proposing tax and toll incentives to attract private sector investment. Extended Abstract Introduction The historical district of cities acts as a place to form a social identity, collective memory and to enrich the sense of place. These districts define the general personality of the city. These historical, geographical and psychological nodes carry the city's identity as a collective heritage. Cities are the center of communication, transportation and commerce, and these three functions are at the most concentrated condition in their center. Tendencies to strategic planning for regenerating the historical district of cities have been widely increased in the second half of the 20th century in the form of urban laws. This movement was first proposed after the Second World War in the United States in the Housing act of 1949.
Northeast China is generally experiencing a shrinkage phenomenon similar to that in other old industrial regions worldwide. Large-scale growth-oriented regeneration programs by the government over the long term have led to the decline of social infrastructure in inner cities, thereby causing a structural crisis at the social level, and exacerbating the negative effects of shrinkage. This study investigated Hegang as a typical shrinking city in northeastern China. Coupling analysis was conducted based on network indexes and two categories of social resilience indexes to identify the key social infrastructure that provides residents with resilience to help cope with shrinkage. Our results demonstrate the centralizing effect of large-scale retail sites, and large green spaces and squares on social resilience. We also found that these categories of social infrastructure had effects across different areas of the city, which then provided social resilience to a wider range of residents. Our results also provide evidence for inequalities in the ability of residents to cope with shrinkage. Based on these findings, we characterize China's urban shrinkage and future development trends, and discuss the limitations of the regeneration model that has long been adopted by local governments. We suggest that local governments should consider incorporating investment in resilience to shrinkage into regeneration policies. They should also consider regenerating social infrastructure and deploying funds to a holistic network to build “reservoirs” of social resilience in shrinking cities. In addition, we highlight our methodological contributions and argue that social resilience monitoring should be integrated into China's urban physical examination framework to enhance dynamic planning and the sustainable regeneration capacity of shrinking urban local governments.
Population loss and heterogeneous physical-spatial decline have created variability in the urban shrinkage process as well as socio-spatial differentiation. Social infrastructure and the social capital it generates are critical stock resources that determine residents' access to social support and their ability to cope with shrinkage. In this study, we investigated the heterogeneity of social capital in Hegang, a typical shrinking city in Northeast China, from a social infrastructure perspective. We collected social capital evaluation data using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and difference analysis methods were used to explore the relationship between categories and attributes of social infrastructure, user groups and social capital. We further revealed the mechanisms associated with social capital heterogeneity. The results showed the following. (1) Significant associations were found between the categories and attributes of social infrastructure and social capital heterogeneity. Social capital was provided by a small number of social infrastructures. The level of social capital inside the community was generally lower than outside the community. (2) Compared with bridging social capital, bonding social capital was the dominant stock resource in shrinking cities. The middle class dominated the social structure and held more bonding social capital. This study provides beneficial evidence for research related to the inequality of shrinkage processes and socio-spatial differentiation.
Most scholarly attention to vanishing cities is fairly recent so, to guide future research, a comprehensive evaluation of prior findings is required. This study is a network analysis of 333 publications authored in English, published over the last two decades. The findings are as follows: (1) shrinking city research has increased significantly since 2016; (2) the key themes are planning, decline, depopulation, policy, regeneration, vacant land, green infrastructure, and case studies such as Detroit; and (3) major academic groups have not yet collaborated effectively on the subject.
Our aim is to analyze the trajectory and causes of the population and economic shrinkage in Ostrava during the period from 1990 to 2019. We will describe the consequences of this urban shrinkage for the policymaking and governance structures as well as the processes and projects of economic and urban regeneration. We intend to explore and determine whether Ostrava will be a shrinking city in terms of demographic and economic development. We use the emerging regrowth theory (e.g., Power et al. 2010) as a comparative contrasting framework for the assessment of policy initiatives dealing with demographic and economic shrinkage and influencing the desirable (by policymakers) population and economic regrowth.
Prázdné prostory působí na své okolí jako negativní externality a jejich charakter často neodpovídá potřebám místních obyvatel. Cíl této kapitoly je trojí: 1) odhalit jaké fyzické prvky a zásahy vedly k negativnímu vnímání a nedostatečnému využití prostoru obyvateli; 2) představit metody pro praxi plánování, jak prázdné prostory mohou být zkoumány na mikroúrovni. Konkrétně byly uplatněny metody pasportizace, nezúčastněného pozorování a dotazníkového šetření zahrnujícího vytvoření mentální mapy a sémantického diferenciálu; 3) navrhnout finančně nenáročný způsob dočasného využití, než bude samosprávou vytvořena dlouhodobá vize prostoru. Tato případová studie z Ostravy odhalila, že prázdný prostor může být obyvateli vnímán negativně i přes značný objektivní potenciál. V závěru byl rovněž zhodnocen dopad předchozích dočasných využití na atraktivitu prázdného prostoru pro obyvatele, přičemž bylo poukázáno na výhody a nevýhody různých přístupů k dočasnému využití.
Prázdné prostory představují problém pro udržitelný rozvoj jak upadajících, tak rostoucích měst. Prvním cílem kapitoly je představit politiky zaměřené na opětovné využití prázdných prostor využívané v anglosaských zemí, které mají s problematikou dlouholeté zkušenosti. V konkrétní rovině jsou diskutovány daňové nástroje, demolice, pozemkové banky a dočasné využití. Druhým cílem je na základě případové studie z Ostravy diskutovat možnosti a bariéry zavedení dočasného využití v Česku. Výsledky poukazují zejména na strukturální bariéry na úrovni státní správy, které znesnadňují efektivní zavedení dočasného využití na lokální úrovni. V závěru jsou na základě případové studie a zkušeností anglosaských měst diskutovány možnosti a limity dočasného využití a daňových nástrojů pro návrat prázdných prostor do života města.
The phenomenon of urban shrinkage occurs not only in large and medium cities, but also in small towns. Small town shrinkage comprises the core element of China’s urban shrinkage, and is affected by both regional and local factors. However, this shrinkage phenomenon has not yet attracted extensive academic attention. Therefore, we studied small towns in Northeast China in order to identify the patterns and distribution characteristics of small town shrinkage from 2004 to 2017. To understand the urban shrinkage of small towns in China, we constructed a hierarchical linear model with multi-level influencing factors to analyze the effects of county-level and town-level factors. The results showed the shrinkage to be widespread in all regions of Northeast China. Towns with small populations and at a lower tier administrative level were more likely to shrink. The function types of shrinking towns were mainly agricultural product distribution centers, industrial, and resource-based. The results also showed that county-level factors had significant cross-level effects on shrinking towns. These findings contribute to our understanding of urban shrinkage from the perspective of multi-level geographic spaces, and provide a reference point for policy makers engaged in sustainable town development.
Since the 1990s, reurbanisation has become an increasingly frequent trajectory for urban development. Many formerly shrinking cities have been able to stabilise their population or even see new growth. Especially prominent in regions like Germany and the UK, but also observed across the whole continent, a lively debate on reurbanisation has developed as a reality of today’s, and a potential trajectory for tomorrow’s, cities in Europe.Postsocialist Europe has not so far been central in the reurbanisation debate, either empirically or theoretically. Subsequently, the postsocialist experience is missing in the discourse and the existing body of evidence. There is, however, some evidence that Czech and Polish cities are also seeing signs of new inner-city growth and a trend towards core city stabilisation.Against this background, the paper scrutinises the issues of reurbanisation and new growth after the shrinking of postsocialist cities. The paper uses the approach of a contrastive comparison between cities in eastern Germany, where reurbanisation has developed as the predominant trajectory for many large cities, and for cities in Poland and the Czech Republic, where this trend is considerably less prominent. It analyses the development of reurbanisation in these cities and their urban regions over the last few decades, its characteristics and the determinants triggering or impeding it. The paper includes data on a national scale as well as from relevant case studies of cities and their urban regions.It argues, among other things, that there is no “postsocialist model” with regard to influencing factors for reurbanisation. Eastern Germany, due to its specific postsocialist situation and transformation trajectory, can be viewed as an “outlier” or “hybrid” which exhibits characteristics typical of postsocialist and western welfare contexts and which is seeing especially dynamic reurbanisation after a phase of extreme shrinkage. Although there are clear signs of inner-city reurbanisation in Polish and Czech cities as well, it seems relatively unlikely that this process will reach the same high levels as in East German cities within the coming years. * This article belongs to a special issue on reurbanisation.
Urban shrinkage has become a common pathway (not only) in post-socialist cities, which represents new challenges for traditionally growth-oriented spatial planning. Though in the post-socialist area, the situation is even worse due to prevailing weak planning culture and resulting uncoordinated development. The case of the city of Ostrava illustrates how the problem of (in)efficient infrastructure operation, and maintenance, in already fragmented urban structure is exacerbated by the growing size of urban area (through low-intensity land-use) in combination with declining size of population (due to high rate of outmigration). Shrinkage, however, is, on the intra-urban level, spatially differentiated. Population, paradoxically, most intensively declines in the least financially demanding land-uses and grows in the most expensive land-uses for public administration. As population and urban structure development prove to have strong inertia, this land-use development constitutes a great challenge for a city’s future sustainability. The main objective of the paper is to explore the nexus between change in population density patterns in relation to urban shrinkage, and sustainability of public finance.
Empirical research on urban shrinkage is being conducted around the globe, since many countries are confronted with the phenomenon of shrinking cities. So far, the research on urban shrinkage has focused strongly on case studies, which is why we can benefit from a diverse and empirically rich knowledge base on the phenomenon and its regional manifestations. By bridging and comparing the European and Japanese academic discourse, we aim to identify the different recurring theories and key issues discussed under the umbrella term ‘urban shrinkage’ and strive to uncover blind spots of the debate. For this purpose, we conduct a qualitative meta-analysis of 100 empirical cases that are documented in the literature dealing with shrinking cities in the EU and Japan. This meta-analysis is based on comparative qualitative content analysis. It reveals a regionally differentiated pattern of various causes, effects and responses documented for shrinking cities in Western, Mediterranean and post-socialist EU countries and in Japan. Based on these findings, we offer an agenda for future research by suggesting an integrative perspective on the context-specific dynamics of urban shrinkage. We argue for an integrative understanding of shrinking cities in order to develop a valid knowledge base for evidence-based policy recommendations.
The paper contributes to the discussion concerning methods used to analyse urban shrinkage and points to the need to comprehensively examine the reasons, course and effects of the process by expanding the research perspective with morphological aspect. In accordance with theoretical assumption adopted for this paper, morphology acts as an element that complements demographic changes in the identification of urban shrinkage since the observed quantitative and qualitative changes in the urban fabric are indicative of the direction of economic and social transformations in cities. The paper aims at identifying the course of shrinkage in a selected post-socialist CEE city and discusses demographic and morphological ways of identifying the process. Łódź (Poland), one of the largest and the fastest shrinking cities in the CEE region was selected for the case study. The paper provides intra-urban scale analyses conducted at the level of individual neighbourhoods taking account of quantitative and qualitative changes in demographic and morphological structure of the city. The picture of changes at a neighbourhood level has helped identify spatial traits of urban shrinkage experienced throughout the city. Spatial scope of the area that undergoes demographic and morphological shrinkage was confronted with the crisis area intended for regeneration within the policy pursued by the city.
Old industrial cities abound with extensive infrastructures, which however no longer suit the economic purposes, for which they were originally built. However either their demolition or a complete rebuilding of new is often not a viable option, and thus the issue of their smart reuse emerged in urban studies. In this paper we combine literature on restructuring, brownfields, and industrial heritage to assess their significance both as a barrier and asset for future urban development. The main aim is to provide municipalities with an overview of the range of their possible reuses, and problems they might face in doing so. Furthermore, the selected examples show that contemplating new use should be guided by assessment of intrinsic features of the structures on one hand, and by general global trends on other. This new combination of the two might render the new use competitive. For this sake a case study of the old industrial city of Ostrava is employed, as this issue has been particularly pronounced given the city’s strong historical specialisation in heavy industry.
This review essay contextualizes the articles included in the Journal of Urban Affairs’ special issue on promoting social justice and equity in shrinking cities. It introduces a framework to guide the analysis of shrinking cities and the formulation of urban revitalization policies. The essay begins by anchoring the literature on shrinking cities to a broader critique on globalization. Following this discussion, the emergence of a new urban form, called the peripheral dual city, is described. The article concludes with an outline for radically rethinking revitalization policy in shrinking cities.
Since the 1990s, reurbanisation has become an increasingly frequent trajectory for urban development. Many formerly shrinking cities have been able to stabilise their population or even see new growth. Especially prominent in regions like Germany and the UK, but also observed across the whole continent, a lively debate on reurbanisation has developed as a reality of today’s, and a potential trajectory for tomorrow’s, cities in Europe.
Postsocialist Europe has not so far been central in the reurbanisation debate, either empirically or theoretically. Subsequently, the postsocialist experience is missing in the discourse and the existing body of evidence. There is, however, some evidence that Czech and Polish cities are also seeing signs of new inner-city growth and a trend towards core city stabilisation.
Against this background, the paper scrutinises the issues of reurbanisation and new growth after the shrinking of postsocialist cities. The paper uses the approach of a contrastive comparison between cities in eastern Germany, where reurbanisation has developed as the predominant trajectory for many large cities, and for cities in Poland and the Czech Republic, where this trend is considerably less prominent. It analyses the development of reurbanisation in these cities and their urban regions over the last few decades, its characteristics and the determinants triggering or impeding it. The paper includes data on a national scale as well as from relevant case studies of cities and their urban regions.
It argues, among other things, that there is no “postsocialist model” with regard to influencing factors for reurbanisation. Eastern Germany, due to its specific postsocialist situation and transformation trajectory, can be viewed as an “outlier” or “hybrid” which exhibits characteristics typical of postsocialist and western welfare contexts and which is seeing especially dynamic reurbanisation after a phase of extreme shrinkage. Although there are clear signs of inner-city reurbanisation in Polish and Czech cities as well, it seems relatively unlikely that this process will reach the same high levels as in East German cities within the coming years.
* This article belongs to a special issue on reurbanisation.
This paper investigates how planning is transformed in view of shrinking cities. For this purpose, the paper introduces four cities’ storylines framed by shrinkage. A particular focus lies on the question if and how dealing with decline and shrinkage led to changes in urban planning and brought about different planning styles. The research presented here sets a basis for identifying traces of paradigm shifts, and possible changes in planning systems, planning styles, and planning cultures by means of comparative, evidence-based urban research.
Modern shopping centers of the “West-European” type have existed in the Czech and Slovak republics since 1997 and 2000, respectively, i.e. for less than two decades. Despite this rather short period they have become synonymous with the most significant transformations both in shopping behaviour and in the more generally understood patterns of social and cultural behavior of all population groups (entertainment and leisure time utilization). This article compares similarities and differences in the temporal, spatial and functional structures of shopping centers in two countries that had, until 1993, developed for seventy years as a single state, and which have demonstrated significant similarities
in their economies, cultures and societies even after the separation.
In the final decades of the twentieth century, the post‐industrial regions of western Europe and the US were hot‐spots of urban shrinkage, and this also affected large areas in post‐socialist countries. Despite ongoing calls for a better integration of diverse global urban experiences into theorization, post‐socialist cities and their trajectories, as well as their experiences with rapid urban change, have been largely disregarded in general theory development.
At the same time, we face a somewhat inconsistent situation in the theoretical discourse on urban development. There are requests for “new geographies of theory” or to regard all cities as “ordinary”, in order to include different types of narratives and experience into overall comparisons and/or theory building.
Set against this background, this paper aims to deal with the case of shrinking post‐socialist cities, that is, cities that are “excluded” from hegemonic discourses for two reasons: they are post‐socialist and they are shrinking. In contrast to this situation, we understand shrinking post‐socialist cities as valuable examples for strengthening the debate on current and future forms of, and determining factors for, general urbanization. At the focus of our paper, therefore, are the questions about what we can learn from the analysis of shrinking post‐socialist cities for the general discourse, as well as for theory building for cities, and how we can overcome the observed reluctance to integrate the post‐socialist experience into general theory development.
The paper draws on an EU 7 FP research project finished in 2012 that comparatively analysed urban shrinkage across several regions of Europe, with a particular focus on post‐socialist countries.
Retail planning policies have become more important in the course of retail change that negatively affected traditional trade centers of several Western European countries after the 1950s. Consequently, governments have begun to more actively control the development and location of new large-scale retail developments. The objective of this article is to analyze the evolution of the policy designed to control the implementation of new retail developments in Portugal. We aim to answer the following research question: “What have been the main characteristics of planning permissions for new retail developments in Portugal?” Besides the theoretical support, our research was based on the analysis of the Portuguese legislation implemented to regulate retail, especially major retail developments. We conclude that, overall, retail planning policies balance between periods characterized by the restrictiveness regarding the opening of new large retail developments and periods where the legislation is smoother, mainly with the objective of increasing innovation in retail, through new formats and companies. Consequently, although ambiguous, this control of retail development has allowed the government to respond both to private promoters and independent retailers.
During the period of transition after the fall of communism in the late 1980s, cities in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) encountered a range of processes that have reshaped their structure and functions. Regeneration effort was a major approach considered as a suitable tool to overcome burdens of the communist urbanistic model, which was typical of high population density, extent public spaces, and resulting in a weak interlink between urban design and the needs of local communities. In this paper, we use the best practice approach and analyse 56 urban regeneration projects carried our between 1989 and 2011 in 12 of the CEECs in order to identify the key issues addressed by regeneration effort and to evaluate the success with which the regeneration projects involved local communities. In addition, the case study based on a questionnaire survey (Neštěmice, Northern Czechia) is presented, illustrating the level of public participation within the regeneration project and perception of project results by the local community. Our results suggest that although there exist important territorial differences among the CEECs, the involvement of local communities in planning and designing the regeneration projects is still generally low. It is also shown that the regeneration projects in post-communist cities are not resolved comprehensively, i.e. that the structures, which are subject to regeneration, are addressed individually with weak relation to community needs and to the surrounding areas of a city.
Growth of city outskirts’ importance in contrast to city centres has been characteristic for structural changes of cities in past decades (i.e. Siebel 2000). Suburbanization has become the driving force of this change. This process of cities expansion beyond their original borders deepens and hanges the basic dichotomy – centre vs. periphery18. Practically in all cities of Western Europe, we can observe a long-term intensification of the negative asymmetry disadvantaging the city centres Sýkora 2003; Läpple 2003), bringing complex spatial de-centralization, respectively deconcentration of processes and phenomena. City centres are confronted with keen competition primarily in connection with the growth of shopping centres and out-of-town deveopment of other commercial facilities, struggling to retain the purchase power, attraction of investment, and overall image. In reaction to the decreasing competitiveness of European city centres versus peripheral areas, new organization form of management emerged in the beginning of 1980s, aiming to reverse the negative status of city centres. This text will focus on one such examp, the so-called city management, hich became one of major models in Germany.
The paper deals with the issue of population and its spatial changes in two second-order cities in the Czech Republic (Brno and Ostrava) after 1989 when the post-socialist period in Central Europe began. We analysed two different hierarchic levels of the urban space: city districts and basic settlement units (within inner cities). Research on evidence for the second demographic transition was carried out. Most attention is paid to the analyses of three selected processes: Population increase/decrease, population ageing and household structure changes.
Downtown Detroit has been undergoing a renaissance in recent years which is in stark contrast to the economic and social situation in much of the rest of the city. This renaissance has been taking place despite the city’s ability to provide good municipal services such as streetlights, security, public space and transport. This article focuses on how four areas which constitute part of Greater Downtown Detroit have relied on different combinations of actors to create and provide the services and amenities deemed necessary for capital investment and middle-class consumption. Each area has its own initiatives and actors who implement them, further fragmenting the city between its core and periphery. Renewed public spaces, private police forces and resident initiatives in middle-class neighborhoods have been created to serve specific needs of the small areas they serve. Rather than being unique, Detroit is an extreme example of fragmented and polarized urbanism which is part and parcel of contemporary cities. We argue that rather than passively reflecting existing socio-spatial divides, these private initiatives in Greater Downtown Detroit actively contribute to the production of sociospatial inequalities across the city.
The principal objective of this paper is to evaluate the spatial patterns of creative industries in a micro-geographic perspective. As the creative industries represent a highly heterogeneous complex, only selected creative industries were studied (culture, marketing and advertising, printing, publishing, architecture). The polycentric industrial city of Ostrava was chosen as the surveyed area. Various spatial statistical methods (e.g. nearest neighbour analysis, kernel density estimation) were applied for the needs of assessment. The results show that spatial patterns of creative industries at intra-urban level do not vary significantly from their counterparts in Western Europe. Despite the fact that Ostrava is highly industrialized polycentric city with relatively weak position of the city centre, creative industries are highly concentrated into the historical city centre and the inner city.
The phenomenon of artistic quarters has been explored by many researchers interested in the spatial behaviours of artists in North American and Western European cities. Their analyses have often focused on the impact of this occupational group on transformations of selected urban areas: the arrival of artists as pioneers in degraded, problem neighbourhoods and the evolution of those neighbourhoods, which then attract more established artists, followed by creative professionals and non-creative gentrifiers. As over time the built environment, functions, cultural, gastronomic offer and ambiance of such areas change significantly, their progressive mainstreaming and commercialization prompt some artists to venture into new districts and spaces. The article first offers a review of existing findings with respect to artistic quarters and their transformations. The discussion of the possible stages of development of artistic quarters present in literature is followed by the application of this theoretical framework in the context of Polish cities using the examples of Krakow and Katowice. These significant regional capitals represent two major types of urban centres in Poland: a city with medieval roots, and a city which emerged during the 19th-century industrialisation process. The phases of evolution of the artistic quarters in both cities are analysed by examining the spatial perceptions of students of artistic majors. The analysis shows that the transformations of urban spaces in terms of their functions and perceptions as artistic quarters are not as straightforward and linear as earlier studies might suggest. Krakow’s more vibrant artistic life and its historic, concentric urban structure, combined with strong commercial pressures, are conducive to the development of new artistic quarters, although its traditional city centre continues to some extent to maintain its position on the artistic map of the city. In contrast, in Katowice the chaotic spatial structure of the heart of this historic industrial region makes the flow of artists more difficult and less likely, as they tend to concentrate in a poorly delineated area of the inner city. In addition, as the case studies reveal, spatial choices of artists are not only dependent on a city’s development path and its built environment but are also to a significant extent shaped by the diverse artistic backgrounds of its creatives and a host of factors linked with post-socialist transformation and neoliberal urban policies.
Since the second half of the 20th century, urban shrinkage has become a common pathway of transformation for many large cities across the globe. Although the appearance of shrinkage is fairly universal-typically manifested in dwindling population, emerging vacant spaces, and the underuse of existing urban infrastructure, ranging from schools and parks to water pipelines-its essence is hidden from view. Phenomena related to shrinkage have been discussed predominantly using terms such as decline, decay, blight, abandonment, disurbanization, urban crisis, and demographic change. Amongst others, these concepts were typically related to specific national contexts, installed in distinct explanatory frameworks, based around diverging normative accounts, ultimately leading to very different policy implications. Yet there is still a lack of conceptualization and integration of shrinkage into the wider theoretical debates in human geography, town and country planning, urban and regional studies, and social sciences at large. The problem here is not only to explain how shrinkage comes about, but also to study shrinkage as a process: simultaneously as a presupposition, a medium, and an outcome of continually changing social relationships. If we wish to understand shrinkage in a specific location, we need to integrate theoretical explanations with historical trajectories, as well as to combine these with a study of the specific impacts caused by shrinkage and to analyse the policy environment in which these processes take place. The authors apply an integrative model which maps the entire process across different contexts and independently of local or national specifics; it covers causes, impacts, responses, and feedback loops, and the interrelations between these aspects. The model does not 'explain' shrinkage in every case: instead, it builds a framework into which place-specific and time-specific explanations can be embedded. It is thus a heuristics that enables communication, if not comparison, across different contexts. With the help of this model, the authors hope to find a way in which shrinkage can be studied both in a conceptually rigorous and in an historically specific way. Instead of an invariant 'process of shrinkage', they portray a 'pluralist world of shrinkages'.
The main purpose of the paper is to analyse the procedures of urban brownfield solutions, with a focus on the environmental and cultural-historical aspects. The paper explores the dilemmas of brownfield regeneration and redevelopment. These processes are placed in the wider perspective of multi - transformation processes of post-communist cities. We compared two former industrial zones - Karolina and the Lower Area of Vítkovice in the city of Ostrava - where we illustrated the key factors influencing their transformation. These case studies point to a unique example of urban industrial brownfields concentrated within the area around the city centre, surrounded by residential zones. These brownfields also reveal the scope of the problem, as they are connected not only with the urban structure, but also with environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects. To research the issue in depth, we mostly used a qualitative approach to examine perceptions and to frame the brownfield issue. We partly applied frame analysis, a narrative approach and we also used research techniques such as document content analysis, and in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders who are involved in the remediation of brownfields and their subsequent re-use (N=15). We researched how stakeholders perceive and frame the problem and which solutions they prefer. Moreover, having made a comparison of the state of affairs between 2001 and 2012, we presented a deeper insight into the topic. We found quite a wide range of opinions toward the brownfields issue and its solutions. The main issues were related to people striving to find the identity of the city and the tension between the old and the new: looking for the direction of future development and the face of the city of Ostrava. We identified location, level of environmental degradation and social-economic conditions as the main factors that influence the brownfield issue.
As in any other large town or city in the Czech Republic, department stores in Olomouc represent a fundamental element of the retail shopping network. The importance of such shopping units is still evident, concentrating signifi cant commercial potential of the city. On the other hand, the current trends make the “classic” stores less and less relevant, both those of full range of goods and specialized ones, giving way to the dynamic development of “modern” shopping centres, hypermarkets, and hobbymarkets. From the viewpoint of their commercial offer, such large shops perform similar functions to those of the department stores. Yet, a substantial difference is seen in the fact that their locations help decentralize the commercial functions in the city, changing the monocentric arrangement of retail shopping into polycentric.
Compared to Western European or North American countries with developed market economies, the formation and acceptance of brownfields in post-socialist countries was delayed by approximately 30 years. For the Central European and partly Eastern European countries, the fall of the Iron Curtain and the transition after 1989 from a planned and state-controlled economy towards a market economy was unique for its time consistency. Yet, it was also specific for the distinct statuses of main sectors of national economy of individual countries, which got hugely manifested during the formation of spatial and functional connections concerning the problems of brownfields of all types (post-industrial, post-agricultural, post-military etc.). In the Czech Republic, there is a long history of industry; from the middle of the 19th century (the boom of the Industrial Revolution), it was regarded the most industrially developed country of Central and Eastern Europe. The massive deindustrialization of the 1990s caused increased concentrations of brownfield localities, with the local people and public administration becoming more familiar with them, and it also led to initial efforts for their systematic regeneration. The cities of Brno and Ostrava (Czech Republic), as well as other big cities in the Central European area, are typical examples for their finished intensive process of deindustrialization. Yet, regarding their economic preferences, and thus the existence of brownfields, they are highly distinct - in Brno there are more textile and engineering companies together with military and agricultural facilities; in Ostrava abandoned coal mining and metallurgical industry sites prevail. From the perspective of humangeographical methods and approaches, this contribution deals both with the functional-spatial consequences of brownfield existence in urban space, as well as with the results of research focused on the perception of the given issues by the residents of Brno and Ostrava. The research itself tries to demonstrate how the groups of selected respondents perceive and evaluate the brownfield problems from the perspective of their everyday experience.
More and more European cities are confronted with population decline in a structural sense. This development of “urban shrinkage” has different causes, but similar effects: the city's hardware, software and mindware deteriorate. In this paper, we explore and assess policy strategies to respond to urban shrinkage in a European context. Four strategies are identified: (1) trivializing shrinkage, (2) countering shrinkage, (3) accepting shrinkage and (4) utilizing shrinkage. We suggest that accepting shrinkage by improving the quality of life for the city's existing residents is the most suitable and sustainable strategy. Dealing with shrinkage is a complex urban governance process that asks for a mental transformation from growth to shrinkage as well as regional rather than local thinking. Moreover, due to the fiscal burden of shrinkage, city governments will be increasingly dependent on the willingness of citizens to help. Civic engagement, however, is not something that can be simply dictated. Therefore we conclude that the authorities of Europe's shrinking cities should first enable their citizens to care for their community before asking them to do so.
Whereas many cities in Europe experience a continuous process of urban growth, a considerable number of others have experienced long periods of urban shrinkage over recent decades. In many such cities this process is ongoing. However, in between these two poles of growth or shrinkage, there are cities with less pronounced trajectories. One such type is cities that underwent a phase of shrinkage but have more recently seen a recovery in population numbers. This 'turnaround' from shrinkage towards a stabilization, or even re-growth, has been increasingly reflected in the literature in recent years. Set against this background, the paper discusses and analyses the urban development trajectories of two European cities – Leipzig in Germany and Liverpool in the UK – cities of a similar size that underwent a phase of long-term shrinkage from the 1930s until the late 1990s (Leipzig), and even the 2000s (Liverpool). Recently, while both cities have stabilized their populations, and have seen a modest growth of some thousand people per year, this success has been heavily dependent on external public investment and cannot be explained simply by the assertions of popular urban development models.
Revealing the parties, the processes and the institutions and, consequently, both the diversity and contingency of the real estate markets, the existing increasing literature emphasises the contemporary numerous links and interdependencies between real estate, land value, planning and town planning policy and even the financial system. This paper is an attempt to understand all the real estate markets, from the most peripheral ones, where the urban rent is the lowest, to the most dense city centres. To gain a better understanding of the real estate market, a process of firstly deconstruction and then reconstruction is used. The process of deconstruction involves identifying various market trends according to property type (principally residential buildings), players and institutions, territorial situations and temporalities based on research conducted in Switzerland. We then developed a meta-synthesis inspired by Fernand Braudel whose works put as much emphasis on day-to-day economic activity as on long-term activity, and on local as well as global issues
Revealing the parties, the processes and the institutions and, consequently, both the diversity and contingency of the real estate markets, the existing increasing literature emphasises the contemporary numerous links and interdependencies between real estate, land value, planning and town planning policy and even the financial system. This paper is an attempt to understand all the real estate markets, from the most peripheral ones, where the urban rent is the lowest, to the most dense city centres. To gain a better understanding of the real estate market, a process of firstly deconstruction and then reconstruction is used. The process of deconstruction involves identifying various market trends according to property type (principally residential buildings), players and institutions, territorial situations and temporalities based on research conducted in Switzerland. We then developed a meta-synthesis inspired by Fernand Braudel whose works put as much emphasis on day-to-day economic activity as on long-term activity, and on local as well as global issues
This article aims to contribute to the theoretical debate in the Czech
Republic over the concept of shrinking cities and to draw attention to the po-
tential of capturing the process of shrinkage by empirical means, taking the
town of Ostrava as an example. The article sets out to explain the concept
of shrinking cities, the causes, consequences, and context of shrinkage, and
to put forth a theoretical framework with which to analyse shrinkage and to
outline a proposed operationalisation of this concept. In its empirical section
the article describes the characteristics of Ostrava, in particular population
changes, and briefl
y sums up the factors at the root of shrinkage in an ef-
fort to answer whether Ostrava is indeed shrinking. The theoretical part of
the article is based on a review of the relevant literature. A combination of
quantitative and qualitative research was carried out for the empirical part
of the study, and as part of the quantitative research an analysis was made of
relevant statistical data on the development of Ostrava. The causes and conse-
quences of shrinkage were identifi
ed and the results verifi
ed using qualitative
methods such as interviews and working seminars. Ostrava reached its peak
population in 1990, when it had 331,729 inhabitants (as of 31 December 1989).
Since 1990 there has been a slow but steady decrease of the population, which
reached 303,798 in 2009 (as of 31 December, not including 10,669 foreigners).
This trend of population decrease and the changes in the town’s socio-de-
mographic structure have as yet had no fundamentally negative impact on
the town’s development, but it can be justifi
ably assumed that further losses
and changes in the structure of the population will have ever more significant
negative impacts on the development of the town of Ostrava
The aim of the paper is to describe and analyse the process of urban shrinkage and especially the governance structures, actors and policies tackling the causes of urban shrinkage of the city of Ostrava. In the theoretical chapters, both urban (city) shrinkage and urban governance are conceptualized and an operationalization of these concepts is outlined. Urban shrinkage is understood as population losses and related phenomena such as housing vacancies, underused social infrastructures or different kind of brownfields etc. The research design for empirical study draws on mixed methodology - quantitative (analysis of statistical data) and qualitative research approaches and techniques such as interviews, stakeholder workshops and participatory observations. Research questions are defined and considered to be the starting point for elaboration of empirical case studies. First, brief description of causes of urban shrinkage of the city of Ostrava in the period 1990-2011 is presented. The main part of this paper focuses on the economic governance structures, actors and policies tackling the main cause of shrinkage, which are deindustrialization and job related out-migration, suburbanization and changes of demographic behaviour such as drop in birth rates. Ostrava is a slightly shrinking city (approximatelly 7% population loss from 331.000 1990 to 306.000 in 2010), which managed thanks to appropriate economic governance in period 2004-2008 to slow down the population losses caused by job related out-migration. However, population losses will continue due to low birth rates and deaths surpluses or suburbanization.
This monograph draws on results of two international research projects, in which the authors participated in 2008–2011. The main research project´s title is “The governance of shrinkage within a European context“ (acronym: Shrink Smart) and is financially supported by European Commission´s 7th Framework Programme, Theme 8 “Social Sciences and Humanities“ in the period 2009–2011. The aim of Shrink Smart research project is to study the role of policies and governance systems in different types of selected European shrinking urban regions i.e. Leipzig/Halle (Germany), Liverpool (UK), Ostrava (Czech Republic), Sosnowiec/Bytom (Poland), Genoa (Italy), Timisoara (Romania) and Donetsk/Makiivka (Ukraine). The research approach was based on elaboration of case studies of mentioned city regions, which would enable international comparisons and in result learning processes. Case studies made possible to describe and examine different trajectories of shrinkage, helped to understand the main challenges for urban planning and elaborate alternatives for urban governance. The hitherto main concrete results are three case studies: a) Trajectory of shrinkage: the case study of Ostrava b) Governance of Economic Regeneration of Ostrava city region c) Governance of inner city regeneration. These 3 case studies are the major basis of this book.
Recently, an international debate on urban shrinkage has brought together national strands of research on those cities that have experienced considerable population loss over a prolonged period. Partially as the result of language constraints and varied terminology used, these national debates have occurred rather separately and the huge potential for eliciting cross-national knowledge has just begun to be exploited. The paper aims to augment and sharpen the international research agenda on urban shrinkage. We call for a more elaborate bridging of national discussions, enhancing scholarly understanding of urban shrinkage, and reflecting upon governance and policy. Last but not least, this paper seeks to align the research on urban shrinkage with general challenges and strands of research in urban and regional studies, human geography, and spatial planning. For the chosen topics, we highlight both recent accomplishments and open questions.
The paper critically reviews retail-led regeneration and retail containment polices and their effects on the urban retail in the UK by analysing the effect that retail-led mega-schemes regeneration projects have on the economic growth of inner cities. There is significant controversy whether mega-schemes in retail-led regeneration initiatives contribute to the growth of local economies or whether it leads to the pitch shifting and marginalisation of local retail. The research focuses on two neighbouring strategies in Birmingham and Solihull to determine differences in the application of retail-led regeneration in inner city and peripheral locations. Birmingham’s Bullring centre and Solihull’s Touchstone centre was researched using quantitative data on the growth of the retail sector in Birmingham and supplemented using interviews with key actors. The paper critically analyses whether retail-led mega-schemes have a net positive effect on the economic revitalisation of the deteriorating inner cities. The results of the research indicate that the retail-led regeneration initiative brought about a dual economy with a global inner core of national retail and the outer core of marginalised local retail. The economic motive of implementing retail-led regeneration is doubted, as the research delivers mixed results. However the research indicates that the strategic benefits of restructuring and marketing the city have become equally if of not more important in retail-led regeneration initiatives than the actual economic benefits for the local economic community.
The period stemming from the late 1990s has witnessed the emergence of large scale city centre retail developments across England. Such projects have received government support because of their association with urban sustainability, in addition to the potential to catalyse broader regeneration and gentrification processes. Whereas some early projects proceeded relatively quickly, other schemes were delayed by complex land assembly requirements. Investigating beyond the formal compulsory purchase process, this paper draws on small businesses’ experiences of the land assembly process to provide a critical perspective on contemporary urban developments. It does so by drawing on interview material collected from small businesses affected by a proposed Retail Core Expansion within the city of Wolverhampton. By analysing attitudes towards communication practices, compensation discussions and relocation assistance, the picture is painted of an exclusionary development model and of limited support for existing land interests. Although active business responses are recognised, anxiety was prevalent because of the overwhelming dominance of future-orientated horizons and narratives.
In recent years, urban governance has become increasingly preoccupied with the exploration of new ways in which to foster and encourage local development and employment growth. Such an entrepreneurial stance contrasts with the managerial practices of earlier decades which primarily focussed on the local provision of services, facilities and benefits to urban populations. This paper explores the context of this shift from managerialism to entrepreneurialism in urban governance and seeks to show how mechanisms of inter-urban competition shape outcomes and generate macroeconomic consequences. The relations between urban change and economic development are thereby brought into focus in a period characterised by considerable economic and political instability.
The retail economy has undergone a profound change over the past two decades. This is largely related to a number of competitive and economic shocks, in particular the rapid increase in online sales that has represented a profound change to the way consumer goods are bought and sold. As a result, many traditional 'bricks and mortar' retail businesses have perished, however, the degree of that decline varies geographically with some places being more resilient than others. In this study we examine the retail landscape in the Liverpool City Region where some startling examples of variability of experience can be identified. These vary extensively from notable success stories, such as Liverpool One shopping destination, to high streets which have become symbols of decline. As such this paper provides empirical evidence on economic health of the traditional retail spaces in the Liverpool City Region and identifies attributes that make some of the retail centres a viable proposition for the future. It also creates a conceptual typology of the sub-regional retail centres linking their economic performance to a success or failure in strategic positioning of a particular centre. Implications of our findings to the city region are also discuss and placed in a wider national policy context, in particular the outdated 'town centre first' approach.
Urban design decisions for shrinking cities need to take into account the quality of daily life of the community alongside with the built environment characteristics. However, little is known about why certain urban design strategies should be adopted in response to shrinkage. This paper examines approaches to influencing shrinkage through design, such as building a visible safety net for vulnerable populations, creating place-based social networks and reconfiguring the city’s stigmatized image. Based on the effects of each, four strategies are suggested for design practitioners and policy makers to choose and adopt during the plan-making processes.
Problem, research strategy, and findings: Big box stores have proliferated across the United States in the last three decades. Proponents have praised them for providing affordability and convenience to consumers, but opponents have criticized them for driving out local businesses, among other negative impacts for communities. We examine the impact of a big box store on a traditional downtown for the case of Davis (CA), which amended its zoning code to allow a Target store that opened at the periphery of the city in 2009. We use a before-and-after survey to determine where residents shopped for selected items before the store opened and after, evaluating which businesses were most affected. The results show that the new big box store had a limited impact on downtown businesses but substantial impact on stores located elsewhere within Davis and especially beyond city limits.
Takeaway for practice: The Davis case suggests that the impacts of big box stores are not always what opponents anticipate. Other cities may lack some of the natural advantages that helped downtown Davis survive the opening of a big box store, but our results suggest that deliberate efforts to protect and enliven the downtown area mattered, too. Planners who want to fortify their own downtowns from the potential harms of big box stores could focus on enhancing downtown vitality by supporting a wide variety of activities and promoting the experiential aspects of shopping downtown. Such strategies would also put downtowns in a better position for surviving the rapidly evolving terrain of retail industry in the 21st century.
I advance six propositions regarding the features of urban decline processes that distinguish them from those in growing cities. First, they are demographically selective, as population losses are disproportionately comprised of more advantaged households. Second, they are dynamically nonlinear, as population changes exceed thresholds where socially problematic behaviors and residential disinvestment jump sharply. Third, they are asymmetrically scalable for technological, financial, physical, and political reasons. Fourth, they are minimally controlled by traditional land-use policies of zoning and building permits. Fifth, they are informally decentralized, as individuals and groups supplement the atrophied local public sector with “do it yourself” activities. Sixth, they are psychologically conservative, as residents try to conserve threatened physical, social, and psychological resources. The article synthesizes extant theory and evidence from multiple disciplines, although ultimately the propositions are advanced as working hypotheses commanding varying degrees of support, which collectively comprise a research agenda for further investigation.
Socialist cities have most often been studied as manifestations of the socialist system itself, linked to the political fate of the Communist Parties in power during their design, construction, and expansion. This article revisits the socialist city and argues for the validity of the concept historically and in the present. Looking qualitatively at this distinct paradigm in Europe, two analytical frameworks are offered, infrastructural thinking and the socialist scaffold. The analysis shows that the universal aspiration for socialist cities was their continuous operation as synchronized instruments of economic production and social transformation in physical space. Distinct from capitalist cities, they had an ideological role in an economic model that instrumentalized cities as nodes in an integrated system, described using Stephen Kotkin’s term, “single entity.” The agency of the socialist scaffold has continued into the era of neoliberalism, shown here to have previously unexplored roots in socialism.
Commercial retail areas within cities have traditionally not only satisfied the demands for various goods and services, but have also contributed to elements of community sustainability and livability as a form of public good. Since the end of World War II, innovations in retail formats have occurred as retailers seek to maximize their financial efficiency. However, this often has consequences for community sustainability and livability. This research employs resilience theory to examine how cities have coped with retail innovations through a comparative case study of Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) and Portland (Oregon, USA). Through historical document review and interviews with senior planners in both cities, it is found that adaptive retail management which emphasize principles over visions, which feature an active, informed, and highly organized public and a polycentric planning system encouraging planning diversity and consensus building can contribute to more resilient retail outcomes that preserve a broader range of retail and public functions.
New shopping centres in Germany are increasingly located in or adjacent to the historic centres and traditional retailing areas of towns. Both among the general public and among retailing and urban planning researchers, opinions are split about this trend: Those in favour of centrally located shopping centres point to synergies that will improve business locations throughout the town. Opponents see direct competition as a dangerous trend that could lead to (further) decline of the town centre. The present empirical study evaluates the effects of centrally located shopping centers in six mid-size towns of Southern Germany.
This essay reflects on the conceptual underpinnings of research on 'shrinking cities' over the last decade. It criticizes the definition of shrinkage in terms of urban population losses and argues that the state-of-the art research on 'shrinking cities' suffers from a misleading conceptualization of shrinkage which forces essentially different urban constellations into a universal model of 'shrinkage'. Four problems of this procrustean bed are discussed in detail: methodological pitfalls of threshold definitions of urban shrinkage; empirical contradictions; an absence of attention to scalar interrelations; and insufficient understanding of cities as historical processes. The essay ends with suggestions for a widened conceptualization of shrinkage and a new research agenda.
In St. Louis, as in many other cities, decline and displacement occurred when key policies, prejudices, and plans interacted with broad economic restructuring to devastate poor and minority communities, while leaving White and middle-class communities largely intact. Amidst overall population loss and neighborhood decline are pockets of prosperity and gentrification within the central city. In this article, we analyze three significant planning interventions in St. Louis, Missouri, that spurred displacement of populations - urban renewal, triage, and the foreclosure crisis. We argue that the differential experiences of Black and White during each of these periods represent two faces of development: one in the north of the city that is largely Black, experiencing vacant land, high crime, and crumbling infrastructure; another in the south of the city that is largely White, enjoying pockets of vibrant commercial development, larger homes, and stable real estate markets. We analyze each period through a framework of uneven and unequal development and displacement, which we call the Divergent City Theory. Based on this theory, planners face an ethical obligation to plan for the future of their cities in a way that seeks to reconcile the structured race and class inequalities of the divergent city.
In investigating the mutual and dynamic relationship between urban development and consumption, this book asks: how are cities moulded by consumption, and how is consumption moulded by cities? Consumption stands at the intersection of different spheres of everyday life: between the public and the private, the political and the personal, the individual and the social. It is considered to be a means and motor of social change; as an active ingredient in the construction of space and place, and in constructing subjectivity and social selfhood. Providing a critical review of the ways in which urban development has been conceptualized, this book critiques urban regeneration initiatives, examines ordinary and spectacular consumption, and describes the relationship between consumption and development of the modern and post-modern city. It investigates: consumption and the city consumption and everyday life consumption, cities and identity consumption and urban regeneration. Consumption is understood to have multiple roles as a political, economic and cultural touchstone, and to be an active ingredient in the construction of place and space. Using international case studies and illustrations throughout, this book thoroughly analyzes consumption and the city, and provides a useful text for students of urban studies, sociology and geography.
With the ongoing shift in the dynamics of retail development toward inner-city sites, mega-retail-led regeneration schemes have emerged as an important strategy for place marketing in the entrepreneurial city of London. While a number of studies have attempted to examine the effects of these schemes, the focus of previous studies has been limited to their wider economic and environmental effects. However, few studies have empirically investigated their impact on surrounding neighborhoods, particularly deprived neighborhoods. This paper investigates the effects of the Westfield London Shopping Centre on changes in housing price levels in the surrounding neighborhood of White City/Shepherd's Bush, in order to determine whether mega-retail-led regeneration schemes are a key determinant in the process of gentrification. A difference-in-differences analysis was used to assess differentials in the change rates of housing prices between control and treatment groups following the development of Westfield London. It was found that Westfield London development caused an increase in the change rate of housing prices of the treatment group relative to that of the control group. These findings indicate that mega-retail-led regeneration schemes may be a main cause of the pricing out of neighborhood residents who cannot afford the resulting increased rents and for altering the characteristics of neighborhoods and their social networks.
This paper investigates the role that flagship developments are having in the regeneration agenda of cities experiencing urban shrinkage. It focuses on Manchester, archetypical example of a post-industrial shrinking city that has been able to return to the growth paradigm. Using an exploratory case study methodology, this paper analyses the spillover effects of pro-growth approaches tackling urban shrinkage. It first compiles and critically assesses its multiple flagship developments, in order to study Manchester's decay process by opposing it to the initiatives that are coping with it. It will then go on to analyse the social consequences of those initiatives and to examine the factors that can burden the city's further development. The paper argues that even though Manchester has performed well in the political game, and cosmetically improved certain areas, its flagship developments have not been able to fix the economic or social problems derived from its decay.
Urban shrinkage is a multidimensional process that combines multiple factors and has various interrelated manifestations. Firstly, the fall in investment contributes to a decrease in the number of jobs and a rise in unemployment. Urban decline generally comes with a selective migration process, with the most qualified and the youngest leaving first. As a result, the most vulnerable populations (the poorest, the oldest and those with little education and qualification) are most affected by the social effects of unemployment and deterioration in their standard of living, and are left in a situation of 'captivity'. Within shrinking cities, low-income neighbourhoods are the first to be hit by decline while, on the urban region scale, socio-spatial inequalities tend to increase. In contexts characterized by such a series of effects, local actors are left with few solutions to reverse decline, due to the fiscal crisis and the lack of financial resources created by urban decline. Local strategies to fight urban shrinkage tend to follow a convergent trend: the urge to restore the image of declining cities leads local actors to favour gentrification or social mix. These strategies are not always successful, but when they are, they result in increased segregation on a micro-scale or in the eviction of the most fragile populations. This paper, based on case studies in France, examines the socio-spatial effects of urban shrinkage. It analyses the social dimensions of the regeneration strategies currently implemented in shrinking cities and the risks of socio-spatial fragmentation.
The dynamic of the world economy influences function profiles of cities. Many European cities find themselves confronted by a weakening of their economic base and have formulated a new profile for which to aim. They have tried to strengthen the profile through inner city multifunctional urban regeneration projects. The assumption of this paper is that when looking at the implementation process, globalization will be felt in these projects at first. The research indicates that this in fact turns out disappointingly, both with respect to the involvement of foreign actors and in the influence of European legislation. The author studied six urban revitalization projects in three countries, the Netherlands, the UK and France. Each case includes upmarket housing, offices and cultural and recreational facilities and puts considerable emphasis on high-value public space and public transport.