Maxwell Hartt
Biographic Data
| ID | 1474667 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Maxwell Hartt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Maxwell |
| FAMILY NAME | Hartt |
| SIGNATURE | HARTT M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Queen's University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1748-7890 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 34 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 72 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 34 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Attributes of growing and shrinking places within socioeconomic clusters in the United States
Age-friendly planning and play
The Study of Older Adult Play Spaces (SOAPS) observation tool assesses the environmental quality of public space for supporting older adult play. Naturalistic observations were conducted using the SOAPS tool at three play spaces in an age-restricted community in Florida, USA. We found that the most effective play spaces have opportunity for structured, cooperative, rule-based play with flexible surrounding space that allows users to adapt it to t…
Silently ageing, quietly shrinking
Inimby? The potential of automated social media bots to create echo chambers in the online participatory planning discourse
Online participatory planning processes are cheaper, easier, and may reach a broader audience than in-person techniques. However, they are also vulnerable to disruption from automated social bots. This research introduces a bespoke planning-oriented social bot, Urbanist Uma, to explore if and how social bots contribute to echo chambers that may influence planning processes. After four years on Twitter, Urbanist Uma had almost 250 followers and he…
Reflections on the post-pandemic future of shrinking cities
This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0
Ageing and the sensory city
Planning shapes the environment. But it is our senses that shape how we experience the environment. This article examines how senses change with age and how planning does (or does not) create sensory experiences that support an ageing population. Specifically, we intertwine findings from a photovoice study with older adults in Victoria, Canada with the planning, gerontology and related literatures to examine the relationships between ageing, the …
Excessive rightsizing? The interdependence of public school closures and population shrinkage
Shrinking cities have, by definition, lost population. Rightsizing is a strategic planning approach to mitigate the challenges of population loss by adjusting a municipality's services, amenities, or even footprint to fit a new demographic reality. While studies have documented the unacceptability and ineptitude of municipality‐driven rightsizing, public school closures have proliferated and quietly become a noteworthy material manifestation of p…
The city after property
The online conversion framework
Digital technology is reshaping participatory planning, including conflict and antagonism in the planning process. Yet planning theory has largely failed to engage with emerging digital mechanisms that could stimulate antagonism in online environments. This paper seeks to explore different ways of framing conflict and antagonism in planning and the degree to which they reflect an increasingly digital approach to public participation. We introduce…
Networked everyday lives in the ‘care-full’ city
The role of bots in U.S. Real estate development online communication
Age-Unfriendly by Design
Problem, research strategy, and findings The world’s population is aging at a rapid rate, yet many local built and social environments are not well suited to support older adults. Australia exemplifies the demographic–environmental disconnect because it is one of the world’s most suburban nations and has one of the proportionally largest baby boom generations. In this research we examined the relationship between built and social environments wit…
Is the garden village an age-friendly planning model? Experiences of growing older in Rhiwbina Garden Village, Wales
Society is ageing. There is a pressing need for planning and policy to help create, maintain and manage age-friendly environments This article explores the potential of the garden village concept as model for a more age-friendly future. We examine the age-friendly and garden village conceptual models and use a mixed-methods approach to explore the demographically ageing case study of Rhiwbina Garden Village, a northern suburb of Cardiff, Wales. W…
Expanding the Playful City
City on the edge
City on the edge: Hard choices in the American Rust Belt, by Michael Streissguth." Journal of Urban Affairs, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2
Planning for an Older and Digital Future
The increasing prevalence of e-participation in planning processes risks precluding older adult engagement. Our study calls upon a strategic e-participation framework to explore the opportunities and challenges of older adult e-participation in the most rapidly ageing and digitizing country on earth: China. Through thematic coding of interviews (n = 13) and statistical analysis of questionnaires (n = 120), we find that older age is not inherently…
The post-pandemic future of shrinking cities
The Elasticity of Shrinking Cities
As shrinking cities scholarship has matured over the past two decades, the term shrinking cities has evolved into an overarching concept encompassing a broad range of geographic, cultural, and disciplinary diversity. As the breadth of the shrinking cities discourse has grown, the field has been simultaneously critiqued for being overly inclusive and oversimplifying the dynamic nature of shrinking cities and for a lack of cohesion among fragmented…
Intraregional Spatial Dynamics of Quality of Life in Shrinking Cities and Their Suburbs
American shrinking cities have long been characterized by the flight of residents to their surrounding suburbs. However, recently there has been increasing evidence of the ‘comeback’ of former declining industrial cities. This paper examines the intraregional spatial dynamics of quality of life to determine if there is a difference between shrinking cities and their surrounding suburbs. We found shrinking suburban areas to be most in need of plan…
Universities and urban social structure
Anchor institutions, including universities, are often instrumentalized to spur revitalization in shrinking or declining cities. Yet universities’ implications for the social geographies of legacy cities remain understudied. We examine links between universities and gentrification, alongside “studentification” resulting from the concentration of students and “youthification” due to the concentration of young adults, in five legacy city Metropolit…
Growing shrinking cities
Shrinking cities have been touted as an opportunity to rethink unsustainable growth-centric policies, but to what extent have they abdicated from the pro-growth urban agenda? We explore one of the most overtly growth-oriented ‘solutions’ to urban shrinkage: housing construction. Our nationwide analysis of Spanish cities illustrates the widespread emergence of shrinking cities following the Great Recession and the disconnect between population and…
Emerging anti-poverty infrastructural gaps in suburbia
Suburbs are subject to numerous stereotypes, including that they lack density, diversity and inclusivity. While these stereotypes have largely been dispelled, the deficit around anti-poverty infrastructure remains understudied. The focus of this paper is to systematically investigate the ostensible mismatch between (a) the emerging suburbanization of poverty, and (b) the potential lack of anti-poverty infrastructure to serve it, with a focus on s…
Aging-in-place and the spatial distribution of older adult vulnerability in Canada
Game On
Game-based learning has emerged as an innovative learning technique that can increase student motivation, emotional involvement and enjoyment. Our study examines the effectiveness of game-based learning in planning education. Specifically, we explore the impact of gamification on planning students’ perception of learning, engagement and teamwork. Two lectures in an undergraduate planning course were delivered using two different methods of teachi…
Mega Regions and Pandemics
The ongoing COVID‐19 crisis has put the relationship between spatial structure and disease exposure into relief. Here, we propose that mega regions – clusters of metropolitan regions like the Acela Corridor in the United States are more exposed to diseases earlier in pandemics. We review standard accounts for the benefits and costs of locating in such regions before arguing that pandemic risk is higher there on average. We test this mega region e…
The diversity of North American shrinking cities
Demographically and economically, there is an ongoing global shift that has resulted in the uneven development and distribution of monetary, human and knowledge capital. This paper first examines and consolidates economic, social and urban theories of growth and decline and demonstrates how globalisation has conceptually shifted the spatial scale and trajectory of urban change theories. The examination of the population trajectories of the 100 la…
How cities shrink
Universities and urban social structure
Anchor institutions, including universities, are often instrumentalized to spur revitalization in shrinking or declining cities. Yet universities’ implications for the social geographies of legacy cities remain understudied. We examine links between universities and gentrification, alongside “studentification” resulting from the concentration of students and “youthification” due to the concentration of young adults, in five legacy city Metropolit…
The Prevalence of Prosperous Shrinking Cities
The majority of the shrinking cities literature focuses solely on instances of population loss and economic decline. This article argues that shrinking cities exist on a spectrum between prosperity and decline. Taking a wider view of population loss, I explore the possibility of prosperous shrinking cities: if they exist, where they exist, and under what conditions shrinking cities can thrive. Examining census place data from the 1980 to 2010 U.S…
Shrinking Cities, Shrinking Households, or Both
Household size decline accounts for a substantial portion of population loss in shrinking cities, yet little research has focused on it. Much of the literature presents a simple growth/decline binary that is largely determined via population figures. In this paper, we highlight the importance and assess the impact of household size changes on population decline, and determine what types of household size declines are more acute in shrinking citie…
Prepared for the silver tsunami? An examination of municipal old-age dependency and age-friendly policy in Ontario, Canada
In many countries, the proportion of older adults (over 65 years of age) is increasing. Such changes in population challenge the viability of economic systems, because older citizens are dependent on a smaller working population. The World Health Organization developed the age-friendly cities framework and corresponding certification system to encourage local municipalities to develop their own policies to support their aging population. This pap…
Excessive rightsizing? The interdependence of public school closures and population shrinkage
Shrinking cities have, by definition, lost population. Rightsizing is a strategic planning approach to mitigate the challenges of population loss by adjusting a municipality's services, amenities, or even footprint to fit a new demographic reality. While studies have documented the unacceptability and ineptitude of municipality‐driven rightsizing, public school closures have proliferated and quietly become a noteworthy material manifestation of p…
Growing shrinking cities
Shrinking cities have been touted as an opportunity to rethink unsustainable growth-centric policies, but to what extent have they abdicated from the pro-growth urban agenda? We explore one of the most overtly growth-oriented ‘solutions’ to urban shrinkage: housing construction. Our nationwide analysis of Spanish cities illustrates the widespread emergence of shrinking cities following the Great Recession and the disconnect between population and…
Mega Regions and Pandemics
The ongoing COVID‐19 crisis has put the relationship between spatial structure and disease exposure into relief. Here, we propose that mega regions – clusters of metropolitan regions like the Acela Corridor in the United States are more exposed to diseases earlier in pandemics. We review standard accounts for the benefits and costs of locating in such regions before arguing that pandemic risk is higher there on average. We test this mega region e…
Silently ageing, quietly shrinking
Networked everyday lives in the ‘care-full’ city
Vacancy in shrinking downtowns
In North America and around the globe, there has been emerging recognition of the size and scope of urban shrinkage, yet little is understood about how decline impacts commercial centers and downtowns. In order to facilitate geographically targeted policymaking, this paper examines the physical patterns of downtown decline in three distinct regions. We seek to test the hypothesis that differences in the process of urban decline in downtown distri…
An innovative technique for modelling impacts of coastal storm damage
A spatial–temporal model is developed to model the impacts of simulated coastal region storm surge and flooding using a combined spatial mapping and system dynamics approach. By coupling geographic information systems and system dynamics, the interconnecting components of the spatial–temporal model are used with historical data to evaluate storm damage. The model examines the component-wise changes to the physical environment, community infrastru…
Prepared for the silver tsunami? An examination of municipal old-age dependency and age-friendly policy in Ontario, Canada
In many countries, the proportion of older adults (over 65 years of age) is increasing. Such changes in population challenge the viability of economic systems, because older citizens are dependent on a smaller working population. The World Health Organization developed the age-friendly cities framework and corresponding certification system to encourage local municipalities to develop their own policies to support their aging population. This pap…
Matthew Desmond, Evicted
Matthew Desmond, Evicted: poverty and profit in the American city." Urban Geography, 38(6), pp. 952–953
A review of Shrinking Cities
Scholars from a variety of fields have been discussing the rise and fall of cities since their inception. However, shrinking cities as a distinct academic field is relatively new. Due to its infanc
Vacancy in shrinking downtowns
In North America and around the globe, there has been emerging recognition of the size and scope of urban shrinkage, yet little is understood about how decline impacts commercial centers and downtowns. In order to facilitate geographically targeted policymaking, this paper examines the physical patterns of downtown decline in three distinct regions. We seek to test the hypothesis that differences in the process of urban decline in downtown distri…
How cities shrink
The diversity of North American shrinking cities
Demographically and economically, there is an ongoing global shift that has resulted in the uneven development and distribution of monetary, human and knowledge capital. This paper first examines and consolidates economic, social and urban theories of growth and decline and demonstrates how globalisation has conceptually shifted the spatial scale and trajectory of urban change theories. The examination of the population trajectories of the 100 la…
The Prevalence of Prosperous Shrinking Cities
The majority of the shrinking cities literature focuses solely on instances of population loss and economic decline. This article argues that shrinking cities exist on a spectrum between prosperity and decline. Taking a wider view of population loss, I explore the possibility of prosperous shrinking cities: if they exist, where they exist, and under what conditions shrinking cities can thrive. Examining census place data from the 1980 to 2010 U.S…
Aging-in-place and the spatial distribution of older adult vulnerability in Canada
Game On
Game-based learning has emerged as an innovative learning technique that can increase student motivation, emotional involvement and enjoyment. Our study examines the effectiveness of game-based learning in planning education. Specifically, we explore the impact of gamification on planning students’ perception of learning, engagement and teamwork. Two lectures in an undergraduate planning course were delivered using two different methods of teachi…
Mega Regions and Pandemics
The ongoing COVID‐19 crisis has put the relationship between spatial structure and disease exposure into relief. Here, we propose that mega regions – clusters of metropolitan regions like the Acela Corridor in the United States are more exposed to diseases earlier in pandemics. We review standard accounts for the benefits and costs of locating in such regions before arguing that pandemic risk is higher there on average. We test this mega region e…
Shrinking Cities, Shrinking Households, or Both
Household size decline accounts for a substantial portion of population loss in shrinking cities, yet little research has focused on it. Much of the literature presents a simple growth/decline binary that is largely determined via population figures. In this paper, we highlight the importance and assess the impact of household size changes on population decline, and determine what types of household size declines are more acute in shrinking citie…
Planning for an Older and Digital Future
The increasing prevalence of e-participation in planning processes risks precluding older adult engagement. Our study calls upon a strategic e-participation framework to explore the opportunities and challenges of older adult e-participation in the most rapidly ageing and digitizing country on earth: China. Through thematic coding of interviews (n = 13) and statistical analysis of questionnaires (n = 120), we find that older age is not inherently…
The post-pandemic future of shrinking cities
The Elasticity of Shrinking Cities
As shrinking cities scholarship has matured over the past two decades, the term shrinking cities has evolved into an overarching concept encompassing a broad range of geographic, cultural, and disciplinary diversity. As the breadth of the shrinking cities discourse has grown, the field has been simultaneously critiqued for being overly inclusive and oversimplifying the dynamic nature of shrinking cities and for a lack of cohesion among fragmented…
Intraregional Spatial Dynamics of Quality of Life in Shrinking Cities and Their Suburbs
American shrinking cities have long been characterized by the flight of residents to their surrounding suburbs. However, recently there has been increasing evidence of the ‘comeback’ of former declining industrial cities. This paper examines the intraregional spatial dynamics of quality of life to determine if there is a difference between shrinking cities and their surrounding suburbs. We found shrinking suburban areas to be most in need of plan…
Universities and urban social structure
Anchor institutions, including universities, are often instrumentalized to spur revitalization in shrinking or declining cities. Yet universities’ implications for the social geographies of legacy cities remain understudied. We examine links between universities and gentrification, alongside “studentification” resulting from the concentration of students and “youthification” due to the concentration of young adults, in five legacy city Metropolit…
Growing shrinking cities
Shrinking cities have been touted as an opportunity to rethink unsustainable growth-centric policies, but to what extent have they abdicated from the pro-growth urban agenda? We explore one of the most overtly growth-oriented ‘solutions’ to urban shrinkage: housing construction. Our nationwide analysis of Spanish cities illustrates the widespread emergence of shrinking cities following the Great Recession and the disconnect between population and…
Emerging anti-poverty infrastructural gaps in suburbia
Suburbs are subject to numerous stereotypes, including that they lack density, diversity and inclusivity. While these stereotypes have largely been dispelled, the deficit around anti-poverty infrastructure remains understudied. The focus of this paper is to systematically investigate the ostensible mismatch between (a) the emerging suburbanization of poverty, and (b) the potential lack of anti-poverty infrastructure to serve it, with a focus on s…
City on the edge
City on the edge: Hard choices in the American Rust Belt, by Michael Streissguth." Journal of Urban Affairs, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2
The role of bots in U.S. Real estate development online communication
Age-Unfriendly by Design
Problem, research strategy, and findings The world’s population is aging at a rapid rate, yet many local built and social environments are not well suited to support older adults. Australia exemplifies the demographic–environmental disconnect because it is one of the world’s most suburban nations and has one of the proportionally largest baby boom generations. In this research we examined the relationship between built and social environments wit…
Is the garden village an age-friendly planning model? Experiences of growing older in Rhiwbina Garden Village, Wales
Society is ageing. There is a pressing need for planning and policy to help create, maintain and manage age-friendly environments This article explores the potential of the garden village concept as model for a more age-friendly future. We examine the age-friendly and garden village conceptual models and use a mixed-methods approach to explore the demographically ageing case study of Rhiwbina Garden Village, a northern suburb of Cardiff, Wales. W…
Expanding the Playful City
Inimby? The potential of automated social media bots to create echo chambers in the online participatory planning discourse
Online participatory planning processes are cheaper, easier, and may reach a broader audience than in-person techniques. However, they are also vulnerable to disruption from automated social bots. This research introduces a bespoke planning-oriented social bot, Urbanist Uma, to explore if and how social bots contribute to echo chambers that may influence planning processes. After four years on Twitter, Urbanist Uma had almost 250 followers and he…
Sociology (23 works) · Geography (22 works) · Political science (19 works) · Economics (17 works) · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies (15 works) · Urbanization and City Planning (15 works) · Economic geography (14 works) · Economic growth (13 works) · Resizing (13 works) · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies (11 works)