The role of Leipzig’s narrative of shrinking

ABSTRACT

An important claim for the categorisation and study of shrinking cities is that the experience of governance across these cities may offer an alternative to hegemonic discourses of growth. However, there are methodological problems associated with categorizing then researching shrinking cities. Two key problems are: first, the category hides a multiplicity of cause and effect and; second, the danger of fetishizing the city against the reality of broader urban drivers of change. It is argued that the use of governance narratives is a means to addresses this, as narratives focus us on cities as places of practice. We apply the approach to Leipzig, once shrinking but now one of Germany’s fastest growing cities. We conclude that while there was a significant attempt to articulate an alternative to growth, it remained dominant suggesting the need to develop a taxonomy of shrinking cities where not all offer an alternative vision of “development”.

KEYWORDS:

• Foundational stories
• Leipzig
• narratives
• shrinking cities
• urban planning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. An economic phase in the 19th century that was accompanied by the prominent architectural style of historicism and left its architectural legacy in Leipzig.

2. We use the term “adopted” to emphasize city actors taking up the shrinking city narrative as federal intervention focused on shrinking cities was external to the city in its origins. In 2000 the federal government established a commission on housing market problems and between 2002–2009 the Federal Government also underwrote the Stadtumbau Ost programme.

3. There is no precise way to date this. In 1995 the so called “Raumbeobachtungssystem” (spatial monitoring system) was set up to monitor empty houses & flats and their geographic location but was initially just an initiative by the planning department. The literature refers to the “shrinking phase” starting in the late 1990s. Two of our interviewees (5,6) dated it to 1997/98.

4. The transformation from shrinkage to growth was gradual and we judge that 2011 marks the latest date of the adopted narrative of shrinkage.

5. We note that the depiction as trade city is not the sole but most frequently mentioned attribute of Leipzig’s past. Other accounts that can be linked to the city’s foundational narrative is the mention of Leipzig’s historical importance as “book city” (many publishing houses were/ are based in Leipzig), and as a music city (referring to several famous composers who lived in Leipzig).