Influences on citizens’ policy preferences for shrinking cities: a case study of four Portuguese cities

Abstract

Population decline in cities ('shrinking cities') is an increasing international phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to determine citizens' policy preferences for tackling shrinkage and to ascertain whether different causes of shrinkage lead to different preferences, on the basis of which we identify viable urban regeneration strategies to implement in Portugal's shrinking cities. This information was obtained by a face-to-face questionnaire survey of 701 residents in four case study cities, who were asked to rank five types of policy: economic revival, safety and accessibility, public services, building interventions, and environmental actions. The results show no differences between cities regarding the policy identified by residents as being most important (economic revival). However, differences between cities in the second and third most important policies were observed and are linked to the particularities of shrinkage in each city. Furthermore, we found a strong link between the ranking of the policies and the demographic and socioeconomic profiles of respondents, which also differ between cities. Younger respondents ranked economic revival higher, whereas older residents ranked safety and accessibility higher. Building rehabilitation was ranked as important mostly by lower-income residents, whereas improvement in public services was identified as being important by the residents of smaller cities in the interior of the country. Giving voice to citizens and allowing them input into policy options appears to be of value for defining the most appropriate policies to apply in shrinking cities.

Comparing the quality of life of cities that gained and lost population: An assessment with DEA and the Malmquist index

“…This shows that it is possible to find shrunken cities with different characteristics, exhibiting high levels of QoL. Effectively, while suburbanization is the main cause for shrinkage in the two metropolitan cities, in the two hinterland cities, the cause is a movement out of agricultural activities (Alves et al, ; Panagopoulos et al, ). On the one hand, Lisbon and Oporto, as the capitals of the two major metropolitan areas, aggregate several cultural and entertainment facilities which strongly contribute for the high QoL.…”

“…Despite the relevance of the topic to several European countries, much of the literature refers to the German and British cases and, more recently, to Eastern countries (Martinez‐Fernandez et al, ); meaning that Southern European countries are less studied, including the Portuguese case. The study of the Portuguese shrinking cities has, however, been recently capturing the attention of researchers and the interest for this issue is increasing (e.g., Alves, Barreira, Guimarães, & Panagopoulos, ; Barreira, Agapito, Panagopoulos, & Guimarães, ; Barreira, Nunes, Guimarães, & Panagopoulos, ; Barreira, Ramalho, Panagopoulos, & Guimarães, ; Guimarães, Nunes, Barreira, & Panagopoulos, , ; Panagopoulos & Barreira, ; Panagopoulos, Guimarães, & Barreira, ; Sousa, ; Sousa & Pinho, ). Despite this interest, it remains unanswered how the QoL of cities that faced population decline compares with that of the cities that gained population.…”

Natural Geography and Patterns of Local Population Growth and Decline in Spain: 1960–2011

“…There is evidence that global warming is changing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. This may further add to the declining attractiveness of rural places when people are moving away from areas with harsher weather conditions [5,46].…”

Residents’ preferred policy actions for shrinking cities

“…As the phenomenon becomes more prevalent, the amount of literature dedicated to the identification of shrinkage, and its causes and consequences, has increased (Oswalt 2005;Haase et al 2013). In Portugal, studies of shrinking cities are scarce but increasing (Sousa 2010;Panagopoulos and Barreira 2012;Guimarães, Barreira, and Panagopoulos 2014;Sousa and Pinho 2014;Panagopoulos, Guimarães, and Barreira 2015).…”

“…Data from the last 20 years indicate that 31 of the 158 cities in Portugal have lost inhabitants (Guimarães, Barreira, and Panagopoulos 2014), of which we selected 4 to investigate in the present study (as in Figure 1). Shrinkage can be driven by multiple reasons (Guimarães, Barreira, and Panagopoulos 2014;Panagopoulos, Guimarães, and Barreira 2015), with each of the cities selected representing a particular cause of shrinkage: suburbanization (Oporto), economic transformation (Barreiro), satellite effect (Peso da Régua), and environmentally driven shrinkage (Moura). In total, 701 questionnaires were conducted: 180 in Oporto, 179 in Barreiro, 171 in Peso da Régua, and 171 in Moura.…”