Local strategies and networks as keys for reversing urban shrinkage: Challenges and responses in two medium-size Spanish cities

Abstract

The article examines the role of ‘local paths’ and ‘substrates’ (networks, stakeholders, and human and economic capital) in the revitalization strategies of shrinking cities. Relationships between local stakeholders as well as their initiatives to revitalize declining cities determine not only future decision-making but also the demographic, economic, environmental, and social evolution of those cities. The article analyses two medium-sized declining cities in the old industrial region of Asturias, Spain. After a presentation of the processes that led to the studied cities' rise and decline, their revitalization strategies are analysed and interpreted on the basis of the local stakeholders' role. In these cities, the impact of local factors may largely explain the uneven evolutionary path in each city following crisis in their respective leading industries.

Keywords:

• governance
• local stakeholders
• path dependence
• revitalization strategies
• shrinking cities

Acknowledgements

The author is most grateful for the cooperation and contribution of the 30 local stakeholders interviewed in Langreo and Avilés. Special thanks are due to Ricardo Méndez for his comments on a draft of this article. The article has been strengthened by helpful and detailed comments from two anonymous reviewers.