Given the rapid urbanisation of the world’s population, the converse phenomenon of shrinking cities is often overlooked and little understood. Yet with almost one in ten post-industrial US cities shrinking in recent years, efforts by government and anchor institutions to regenerate these cities is gaining policy urgency, with the availability and siting of affordable housing being a key concern. This is the first book to look at the reasons for the failure (and success) of affordable housing experiences in the fastest shrinking cities in the US. Applying quantitative and GIS analysis using data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the authors make recommendations for future place-based siting practices, stressing its importance for ensuring more equitable urban revitalisation. The book will be a valuable resource for academic researchers and students in urban studies, housing and inequality, as well as policy makers.

Given the rapid urbanisation of the world’s population, the converse phenomenon of shrinking cities is often overlooked and little understood. Yet with almost one in ten post-industrial US cities shrinking in recent years, efforts by government and anchor institutions to regenerate these cities is gaining policy urgency, with the availability and siting of affordable housing being a key concern. This is the first book to look at the reasons for the failure (and success) of affordable housing experiences in the fastest shrinking cities in the US. Applying quantitative and GIS analysis using data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the authors make recommendations for future place-based siting practices, stressing its importance for ensuring more equitable urban revitalisation. The book will be a valuable resource for academic researchers and students in urban studies, housing and inequality, as well as policy makers.

Supporting Shrinkage describes a new approach to citizen-engaged, community-focused planning methods and technologies for cities and regions facing decline, disinvestment, shrinkage, and social and physical distress. The volume evaluates the benefits and costs of a wide range of analytic approaches for designing policy and planning interventions for shrinking cities and distressed communities. These include collaborative planning, social media, civic technology, game design, analytics, decision modeling and decision support, and spatial analysis. The authors present case studies of three US cities addressing shrinkage and decline, with a focus on issues of social justice, democratization of knowledge, and local empowerment. Proposed as a solution is an approach that puts community engagement and empowerment at the center, combined with data and technology innovations. The authors argue that decisions informed by qualitative and quantitative data and analytic methods, implemented through accessible and affordable technologies, and based on notions of social impact and social justice, can enable residents to play a leading role in the positive transformation of shrinking cities and distressed communities.

This open access book discusses booming housing markets in cities around the globe, and the resulting challenges for policymakers and central banks. Cities are booming everywhere, leading to a growing demand for urban housing. In many cities this demand is out-pacing supply, which causes house prices to soar and increases the pressure on rental markets. These developments are posing major challenges for policymakers, central banks and other authorities responsible for ensuring financial stability, and economic well-being in general.This volume collects views from high-level policymakers and researchers, providing essential insights into these challenges, their impact on society, the economy and financial stability, and possible policy responses. The respective chapters address issues such as the popularity of cities, the question of a credit-fueled housing bubble, the role of housing supply frictions and potential policy solutions. Given its scope, the book offers a revealing read and valuable guide for everyone involved in practical policymaking for housing markets, mortgage credit and financial stability.

Given the rapid urbanization of the world's population, the converse phenomenon of shrinking cities is often overlooked and little understood. Yet with almost one in ten post-industrial US cities shrinking in recent years, efforts by government and anchor institutions to regenerate these cities is gaining policy urgency, with the availability and siting of affordable housing being a key concern. This is the first book to look at the reasons for the failure (and success) of affordable housing experiences in the fastest shrinking cities in the US. Applying quantitative and GIS analysis using data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the authors make recommendations for future place-based siting practices, stressing its importance for ensuring more equitable urban revitalization. The book will be a valuable resource for academic researchers and students in urban studies, housing and inequality, as well as policy makers.

This book examines a rapidly emerging new topic in urban settlement patterns: the role of shrinking cities. Much coverage is given to declining fertility rates, ageing populations and economic restructuring as the factors behind shrinking cities, but there is also reference to resource depletion, the demise of single-company towns and the micro-location of environmental hazards. The contributions show that shrinkage can occur at any scale – from neighbourhood to macro-region - and they consider whether shrinkage of metropolitan areas as a whole may be a future trend. Also addressed in this volume is the question of whether urban shrinkage policies are necessary or effective. The book comprises four parts: world or regional issues (with reference to the European Union and Latin America); national case studies (the United States, India, China, Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Romania and Estonia); city case studies (Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland, Naples, Belfast and Halle); and broad issues such as the environmental consequences of shrinking cities. This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working in the fields of urban studies, economic geography and public policy.

A number of U.S. cities, former manufacturing centers of the Northeast and Midwest, have suffered such dramatic losses in population and employment that urban experts have put them in a class by themselves, calling them "rustbelt cities," "shrinking cities," and more recently "legacy cities." This decline has led to property disinvestment, extensive demolition, and abandonment. While much policy and planning have focused on growth and redevelopment, little research has investigated the conditions of disinvested places and why some improvement efforts have greater impact than others. The City After Abandonment brings together essays from top urban planning experts to focus on policy and planning issues related to three questions. What are cities becoming after abandonment? The rise of community gardens and artists' installations in Detroit and St. Louis reveal numerous unexamined impacts of population decline on the development of these cities. Why these outcomes? By analyzing post-hurricane policy in New Orleans, the acceptance of becoming a smaller city in Youngstown, Ohio, and targeted assistance to small areas of Baltimore, Cleveland, and Detroit, this book assesses how varied institutions and policies affect the process of change in cities where demand for property is very weak. What should abandoned areas of cities become? Assuming growth is not a choice, this book assesses widely cited formulas for addressing vacancy; analyzes the sustainability plans of Cleveland, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Baltimore; suggests an urban design scheme for shrinking cities; and lays out ways policymakers and planners can approach the future through processes and ideas that differ from those in growing cities.