Abstract for Conference in Porto Portugal

The following is my abstract for the conference in Porto, Portugal, as refrenced in the previous blog entry.

Shrinking cities and their relationship to shifts in the global economy

The term "shrinking cities" is a relatively new one in urbanism and the study of the global political economy. A shrinking city is one where population and economic prosperity has declined significantly due to national and international movement of capital, global structural changes and the recent financial crisis. This phenomena was first seen in the 'rust belts' of the Northwest and Midwest of the United States, Midlands of the UK, industrial core of Scotland, Northern Spain, the Ruhr Valley and Silesia (Poland and Czech Republic) and other areas mainly in the US and Europe. In many cities, such as Detroit in the US, the decline is severe resulting in a large number of abandoned houses,industrial and commercial areas. The infrastructure and the services of these areas are under also severe pressure due to the decline of revenue to support them. This paper will investigate the stages of decline in key locations in the U.S., and Europe , examples of how some these cities are handling the changes and future strategies on various scales to transition these cities to another phase of development. .