Shrinking Cities 1

Shrinking Cities
Economic Geography
Dr. Gordon Winder
Summer Term 2008
Georgina Gilchrist
Overview
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Introduction
Reasons for urban decline
Case Study: Detroit
Case Study: Manchester
Summary
Introduction
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Today, every 6th city in the world can be described as a
shrinking city.
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Phenomenon where cities, parts of cities or metropolitan
areas are experiencing a dramatic decline in their
economic and social bases.
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Characterised by a loss of employment opportunities
leading to the migration of population.
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Embedded in the context of globalisation.
Reasons for urban decline
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Long term industrial transformation
Rapid economic breakdowns
Environmental threats
Political transformation
Case Study: Detroit
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‘The great American contradiction.’
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‘Would the last one to leave the city, please turn off the
light.’
1920s
Mitch Kope (2004)
Today
Historical background 1
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Start of Industrial formation (Civil War to
WWII)
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1899 first car industry established
Taylorism introduced
‘Motor City’ - Detroit’s Industrial boom
between the World Wars. Emergence of a
regional and industrial centre.
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Mass immigration of black workers
Historical Background 2
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1950s start of deindustrialisation.
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Decentralisation and relocation of Industry
1970s Oil crisis and industry decline hit the city hard
• Start of ‘white flight’
• Growth of suburbs; driven by car ownership and racial
hatred.
• Decline of the inner city.
•Became the epitome of sprawl and of racial
segregation.
Cityscape
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Between 1923 and 1928 all the city’s skyscrapers
were built.
1930s ‘New Deal’ – motorways and private housing
built
1950s – New through-roads were built. Tram lines
were torn up. Today there is hardly any public
transport.
Between 1978 and 1998, 108 000 buildings were
demolished.
Devil’s night, October 31st arson attacks on buildings
Cityscape
Detroit today
Re-urbanisation
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No quick fix available.
A lack of cultural commitment and financial energy.
Downtown is experiencing a slow urban recovery as
a result of new corporate investment.
Aimed to attract white residents back to the city –
ignores the existing black population.
Calls for attention on ‘sustainability, local economy
and community’.
Suburbia is taking over the inner city.
Case Study: Manchester
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3rd Largest City in England
‘Capital of the Industrial Revolution’
Historical Background 1
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Beginning of 19th Century Manchester transformed
itself into the cotton centre of the world.
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Supplied The British Empire with cotton
1894 Creation of the Manchester Ship Canal
•1914 Start of Deindustrialisation
•WWI Cut off overseas markets
•Increasing competition from overseas competitors
•Continued decline until the 1980s, which marked the
end of Manchester’s Industrial base.
Historical Background 2
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The City was badly hit by unemployment and
deprivation.
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Emerging service sector was not enough to absorb all
the unemployed from the manufacturing sector.
1985 – Only 25% of the City’s workforce was
employed.
Restructuring of the City; slum clearance programmes
Regeneration
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Successful regeneration based on;
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Grass-Roots initiative
Youth Culture
Rediscovery of the Warehouse
Municipal Entrepreneurialism
Re-invention through branding, self-promotion and
re-building.
‘The
fastest-growing shrinking city in the UK’
Phil Misselwitz
Summary
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Shrinking cities are a global phenomenon.
Many different reasons for urban decline, although
the common denominator is globalisation.
Characteristics of shrinkage: urban sprawl, vacant
properties, poverty blighted areas, high levels of
crime.
Cities are becoming larger in area and less dense.
Evidence that cities develop unanimously; it is less
the layout that shapes a city, but rather the cultural
developments, forms of communication and
establishment of social networks and processes.
Resources
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http://www.goethe.de/kue/arc/dos/dos/sls/wus/en1359138.htm
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www.shrinkingcities.com
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http://www-iurd.ced.berkeley.edu/scg/index.htm
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Mason, Colin. M. (1980) Industrial decline in Greater
Manchester. 1965-1975: a components of change
approach. Urban Studies. Vol 17. No.2 p.173-184