In the last decades of the 20th century, the patterns of urban shrinkage defined a worldwide phenomenon. They are visible in all developed regions, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, on the background of the economic growth trajectories and social health improvements. Despite this fact, the public discourse in a post-socialist country such as Romania is only focused on urban decline and its demographic dynamics sliding, when in fact urban shrinkage is more advanced, even to the point of becoming a selective phenomenon in developed countries such as The Netherlands. Our focus on urban shrinkage was driven by the fact that Romania can develop a policy framing regarding urban shrinkage, using example practices from a developed country such as The Netherlands. Moreover, it can learn how to deal with urban shrinkage effects by establishing certain differences which can cope with veritable lessons from both sides. This paper firstly investigates the urban shrinkage phenomenon observed in three cities in Romania and in three cities in The Netherlands. Secondly, it presents an analysis of demographic statistical data using the shift-and-share method to emphasize the persistence of urban shrinkage in the age structure of the total population of shrinking cities from both regions. Thirdly, it offers some lessons from both countries, finally presenting a mutual learning framework that can be applied to other regions in Europe.

Population ageing represents a dramatic scenario and a progressive process inducing major changes in the dynamics of the population and especially in the age structure. The ageing population process is a phenomenon relevant to define not only demographic but also social, cultural, and territorial transformations in relation to the urban settlements. In this article, we present a case study regarding the ageing process persistent in urban areas from the counties of the Transylvania region. The present study emphasizing the evolution of the older adults age group between 2015 and 2019, drawing a forecast model for the prognosis period 2020–2050. The tendencies of the population decline process are revealed by the outcomes of the ageing index, outlining some long-term effects of population ageing over the years. The study of this phenomenon reveals an important framework at the regional level of Transylvania and points out the means to determine its existence in other regions or countries, since it affects the urban population evolution and its dynamics.

"The Elderly Dependency Rate in Urban Areas of Transylvania Region between 1992 and 2021. Population ageing becomes a serious issue not only in developed countries, but also in a post-socialist country such as Romania. Nowadays, the demographic tendencies of ageing trends are visible in the demographic dynamics of developed countries, especially in Central and Eastern European Countries in the context of economic growth and population loss. For example, in Romania, it is noticeable in urban areas and rural areas where the demographic trajectories show the presence of a certain demographic phenomenon in age structure of population such as “population ageing”. In the last decades, Romania has entered a period of rapid and dramatic ageing demographic phase. In this respect, first we investigate the phenomenon of population ageing in Transylvania region. Secondly, the paper presents the calculation of elderly dependency rate based on demographic statistical data provided by the National Institute of Statistics. Thirdly, it drives some possible social-economic effects of the progressive process of ageing tendency. Keywords: Ageing population, elderly people, population decline, Romania, Transylvania region "