Influences on citizens’ policy preferences for shrinking cities

A case study of four Portuguese cities

Bibliographic Data

ID7366601
AuthorsΤhomas Panagopoulos (0000-0002-8073-2097), Ma Helena Guimarães (0000-0002-6904-3696), Ana Paula Barreira (0000-0001-5816-3361)
Year2015
Volume2
Issue1
Pages141-170
Publication date2015-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRegional Studies Regional Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2168-1376 • E-ISSN: 2168-1376
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/21681376.2015.1010225
OpenAlexW2023619207
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited50

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

Business · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economic policy · Economics · Geography · Political science · Population · Portuguese · Public policy · Ranking (information retrieval · Resizing · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Demography · Urban Development and Cultural Heritage · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies · Urbanization and City Planning