What is the future of cities? Why is it important to invest into cities? What changes should we make in our investment policies in cities? Twelve leading European thinkers about cities answer these three questions.
Here the thoughts of Wolfgang Kil: The Shrinking City “The familiar distinctions between the capitalist, communist and developing countries (the ‘first’, ‘second’ and ‘third’ worlds) have disappeared.”
A new revolution?
Displacement of production
It is not only small cities that are under threat. “What would happen to Munich if Siemens suddenly decided to pack up and leave?” asks Kil. “The main danger is that these decisions will not be taken by politicians or planners but by the stock market.”
Losers
Kil believes that the impact of shrinkage in Western Germany will first become apparent in the Ruhr. Like in Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund, more and more old European inner cities are turning into places for the ‘losers’. In the short term, they may transform those inner cities into no-go areas. Other well-known examples of shrinking regions are eastern Belgium and eastern France.
He does not believe that there is a single good method for dealing with shrinkage. “Every city has to find its own way.” Mayors and other local politicians do generally see that something has to be done, but that results in a sort of panic reaction in which they opt for ‘easy’ solutions that usually don’t work. There is too much competition between cities in the field of knowledge industries (universities) or leisure. Meanwhile, there are more tourist attractions than tourists in post-industrial Central Europe. Each city should have its own attractive features for residents and visitors. “Only Venice can exist by being beautiful!”
Highly trained experts
“What we need,” explains Kil, “are highly trained experts in the political field with a solid understanding of what is going on in shrinking regions. Within the last decade many East Germans have emigrated to seek jobs in the West. But that is no solution for people who lose their jobs in the West. What is their fate in the future? In short, experts are needed to represent their interests. These experts must be able to see the broader picture. Older people, people with few qualifications and the less prosperous are in urgent need of our attention. I also expect a lot from very specific, artistic and cultural stimuli that show the people that they aren’t forgotten, that they still matter.” Nor does he believe that all shrinking cities should be transformed into growing cities. “In post-industrial Europe, there is enough housing for everybody. The challenge is to find out how we can use existing housing better. We will have to work on the stabilisation of what we have and manage the excess capacity.”
Completely empty streets
Wittenberge in North-East Germany is one of the most striking examples of a genuine shrinking city, with completely empty streets. After many years, the buildings that were not in use were demolished, creating desert-like spaces in the middle of the old city. Small prefab family houses have now been built to fill the gap. They have replaced the dense, ordered, system of the old European town with a chaotic structure.
Kil points out a new phenomenon associated with shrinking cities. “Property and land values drop towards zero. So value capturing or value oriented planning are not viable options in shrinking cities.” But Kil is not shedding any tears about the decline in property values. He even hopes that they will reach zero point so that a new start can be made. “The remaining question is: who will be the new actors and what will be the new urban structures, the new urban sense? I’m sure that creative minds will come up with lifestyle ideas instead of business plans. I hope they will generate totally new kinds of value!”
Leipzig as a shining example
Kil believes that public money is needed to manage social processes in shrinking cities. “If the market stays out, the state will have to intervene. The market only works if there is a profit to be made, which is not the case when people and economic activities move away. If cities can’t keep their critical mass, they have to receive help from public resources.” He sees Leipzig as a shining example. “The local government asked young creative bureaus to come up with experimental planning. The common characteristic was that the planning should not be directed by predetermined objectives. The bureaus’ plans were based largely on collaboration with artistic ideas. Together with the planners, the politicians in Leipzig defined the problem in new terms like ‘perforated town’ or ‘planning by waiting’. The planners then proposed solutions. The politicians approved them for one reason: they had to act, and there were no alternatives.”
Nevertheless, many politicians ignore the problem of shrinking cities, because decreasing numbers (of inhabitants, houses, public money) are thought to represent political failure. “Accepting that your city is a shrinking city requires political courage. The problem can only be resolved if it has been recognised.”
Wolfgang Kil is a German architecture critic and publicist. He studied architecture in Weimar and, after completing his studies, worked as an architect for a housing corporation. He moved on from that job to work as an editor for architecture journals in Berlin. Since then, he has never stopped writing. He is particularly interested in the phenomenon of shrinking cities, and in how our societies will manage the big change to a post-industrial future.
Downloads / links
- ErasmusPC article on ReUrbA’s Statement for Strong Cities
- Danuta Hübner EU Commission Website
- View the compilation of quotes from the interviews on film
- View EU commissioner Danuta Huebner’s welcoming response to the Statement for Strong Cities on film
