Green space development in shrinking cities – opportunities and constraints

Many cities in Eastern Germany are aff ected by processes of demographic and economic shrinkage (Hannemann, 2003; Gatzweiler et al., 2003): (1) Demographic processes mean changes in the size and structure of the population. Lower fertility rates have been causing the absolute population to drop. A rising level of life expectancy has lead to demographic aging. Additionally, internal migration has resulted in regional population decline. Meanwhile, immigration and changing lifestyles have made populations more international and heterogeneous. (2) Deindustrialisation in Eastern Germany has led to economic problems and has also resulted in declining budgets of the local authorities. (3) Loss of population and economic downturn have brought about a fall in the demand for housing, commercial property and social infrastructure buildings, thus creating a surplus. The increasing number of vacancies calls for the demolition of buildings, producing more empty spaces and transforming the urban fabric. Concurrent suburbanisation and changes in land-usage have reduced the spatial density of shrinking cities.