<i>‘This excellent collection includes insightful reviews of current research, recently implemented projects and policies, and analyses of emerging topics chiefly from the European experience are supplemented with examples from North America, Japan, and Mexico. This book gathers excellent studies of a range of programmes including regrowth, shrinking smart, green innovation, infrastructure, complemented with chapters on governance, social capital, and relevant social issues. Chapters on the epistemology of urban shrinkage research and current debates on terminology amplify the significance of this volume. This timely book offers an invaluable resource for researchers, policy-makers in Europe and other world regions who are seeking examples of good programmes and policies to manage urban shrinkage. It should be of interest to researchers and policy-makers interested in the practical experience of managing urban shrinkage, and those interested in theoretical debates about shrinkage, governance, and new topics that require further explorations.</i>
- Chung-Tong Wu, University of Sydney, Australia,
<i>‘Our cities represent very comprehensive social ecosystems – a mosaic consisting of diverse structures interlinked by the veins of infrastructure shaped by multiple actions of various actors. The </i>Handbook on Shrinking Cities<i>, edited by Karina Pallagst, Marco Bontje, Emmanuèle Cunningham Sabot and René Fleschurz presents a similar picture. This is a book in which the synergy between chapters written by numerous authors creates a multi-faceted picture of shrinking cities and which will be of interest to a wide range of readers.’</i>
- Maros Finka, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China and President of the AESOP,
<i>‘With COVID-19 upending traditional patterns of urban living, some shrinking cities may be facing unique opportunities for revitalization and prosperity. This wonderful collection of essays from established and new scholars combines multi-disciplinary expertise to propose innovative ideas and planning strategies for shrinking cities around the world.’</i>
- Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, UCLA, US,
Offering a timely response to the endurance of decline in cities across the globe, contributions from top scholars showcase a wide range of perspectives on the ongoing challenges of shrinkage. Chapters cover topics of ‘governance’, ‘greening’ and ‘right-sizing’, and ‘regrowth’, laying the relevant groundwork for the Handbook’s proposals for dealing with shrinkage in the age of COVID-19 and beyond. Leading experts in the fields of urban and regional development contribute novel ideas pertinent to the future of shrinking cities, considering factors such as economic prosperity, liveability, social stability, and innovation, ultimately representing a paradigmatic shift from growth-centred planning to the notion of ‘shrinking sustainably’.
In suggesting strategies to reverse decline and generate newer, more robust development, this prescient Handbook will prove beneficial to scholars of human geography and urban planning. The wide range of case studies will also make this a vital read for planning practitioners.