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Coping with City Shrinkage and Demographic Change - Lessons from around the Globe
Documentation
International Symposium
30.-31.03.2006 in Dresden, Germany
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Programme
Flyer (PDF, 119KB)
Thursday, March 30
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12:00 |
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Registration and snacks
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13:00 |
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Welcome addresses and introduction
Karl-Dieter Keim, Schader Foundation, Vice Chairman of the Board
Bernhard Müller, Director of Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development (IOER)
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15:00 |
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Coffee Break
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17:00 |
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End of day 1
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Friday, March 31
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10:30 |
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Coffee Break
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13:00 |
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Lunch Break
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16:00 |
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Closing remarks
(Bernhard Müller)
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Background |
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The shrinking city phenomenon is a multidimensional process, comprising cities, parts of cities or metropolitan areas that have experienced dramatic decline in their economic and social bases.
Common denominator of shrinking cities all over the world is the fact that they are embedded in the context of globalization leading to societal changes. Urban decline and the loss of employment opportunities are closely linked in a downwards spiral, triggering an out-migration of population.
This process of decline is often due to the post-industrial transformation of cities and to the shift from manufacturing activities to services, a process that has left industrial and working-class cities with very few resources in terms of employment and fiscal base.
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Aims |
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Aim of the symposium is to discuss shrinking cities from three different angles:
- the international comparative approach,
- the German discourse, and
- the social sciences perspective.
Linking these three windows of exploration to shrinking cities research in order to widen the debate is both unique and innovative. The international comparative viewpoint is essential to the discussion
since the urban phenomenon of shrinking can be perceived all over the world, albeit within different cultural and socio-economic
settings. An equally important point of reference for the investigation is the German discourse about shrinking cities, since in other areas - in particular the US - urban growth is persistent as the dominant paradigm in urban planning and development. Moreover, the symposium is setting the context for in-depth reflections from the point of view of social sciences considering specific social,
demographic, economic, political and cultural issues.
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Key questions and Structure |
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The symposium addresses the issue of strategic answers to urban
shrinkage:
- How to maintain respectively restore quality of life in shrinking cities?
- How are different components of comprehensive strategies like land-use planning, economic development, culturebased
issues, and environmental aspects considered in practice? - Can we learn from other shrinking cities around the globe?
These questions will be embedded in four panel sessions and one roundtable session featuring an interdisciplinary range of renowned experts from Germany and an interdisciplinary group of scholars from five continents (North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia).
This "Shrinking Cities Group" was initiated by the visiting scholars’ roundtable at the Institute of Urban and Regional Development, University of California, Berkeley, in 2004.
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Further Information |
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Dr. Tobias Robischon
Schader-Stiftung
Telephone: +49 (0)6151 1759-12
EMail: robischon@schader-stiftung.de
Dr. Thorsten Wiechmann
Leibniz-Institut für ökologische Raumentwicklung e.V.
Telephone: +49 (0)351 4679-261
EMail: t.wiechmann@ioer.de
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© 2001 - 2010 Schader-Stiftung. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Letzte Änderung: 12.05.2006 |
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