Nature and Culture

Since about the 1980s, shrinkage processes have been observed mainly

in the developed countries. Although population decreases has been

the main focus, other phenomena—such as the reduction of jobs, the

restructuring of industrial and urban regions, and the scarcity of public

commodities and natural resources—also deserve attention. Shrinkage

is by no means becoming the dominant mode of development

though some regional exceptions do exist. In this sense, it is comparable

to the modern growth processes that do not run concordantly.

Modern shrinkage processes are concentrated in certain economic

branches, institutions, social groups, and last but not least, regions.

Consequently, we find profound disparities with some countries where

parts of society face shrinkage processes while others face growth

processes. As observed by some scholars (e.g., Oswalt 2008), the growth

mode is losing its dominance in modern societies. However, a paradigm

shift toward shrinkage has not yet taken place. Rather one has

to assume a longer phase of side-by-side, contra-, and co-operative

growth and shrinkage processes. This phase may be shaped by its own

contradictions and conflicts, in particular by a high level of uncertainty.

In contrast to the social growth phase roughly until the early

1970s, this phase will probably be less easy to steer. Although growth

coalitions, typical for the previous phase, were based on the assumption

that profits were redistributed as welfare, the shrinkage alliances

are confronted with the financing of losses. Shrinkage processes challenge

operational routines and bring with them new positions of interest

that require novel coalitions among actors.

In the past two centuries, urban growth has increased at a rapid pace, mainly driven by the demographic impact of industrialization. Besides urban growth, as this article argues, effects of industrialization have likewise intensified urban shrinkage. Cities of the industrial age have experienced unprecedented economic crises followed by waves of out-migration; they have suffered from violent destruction, made possible by the mechanization of war; they have been drained by suburbanization driven by an industrialized building sector and increasing private car ownership; and they have undergone processes of deindustrialization followed by losses of workplaces and population. This article outlines the historic development of urban shrinkage in the twentieth century, with a particular focus on the aged industrial countries. Based on an extensive evaluation of historic population data, the article provides an overview of the most relevant causes of shrinking cities, and offers an outlook on future demographic trends.

The article examines the relevance of demographic change for the development of rural landscapes, especially in Germany's shrinking regions. To date, no empirical investigations have undertaken the matter. Thus, the article is mainly based on literature analysis and the findings of expert workshops. The research indicates that demographic change does not have as strong impact on landscapes as other factors such as agricultural policy, climate change, and the promotion of renewable energies. Nonetheless, from the perspective of nature conservation, there might be some indirect effects caused by structural and institutional changes of administrations, which could lead to a decline in importance of landscape-related concerns. In addition, changes in environmental consciousness due to rising cultural diversity could lead to a different societal attitude toward landscapes and their values.

Since about the 1980s shrinkage has become a new normality especially for European cities and urban regions. As a consequence of the shrinking process, new dimensions of wastelands appear in the affected cities. Urban planners have to find solutions for these “holes” in the urban fabric and new visions are needed for open spaces. In the last few years, the wilderness concept has emerged in the planning field and it has become a fashionable term, in particular in urban restructuring in eastern Germany. If wilderness is a usable concept for urban restructuring, can wilderness be a new structuring element for urban planning? This article analyzes the mechanisms of formation of wasteland in shrinking cities, and then focuses on related debates in urban planning as well as the debates in urban ecology and nature conservation research. The article concludes by considering different aspects of these debates and the question of which role wilderness can play in shrinking cities is discussed.

This article is based on the thesis that wilderness as a cultural value emerges where it has been lost as a geographical and material phenomenon. In Europe the idea of wilderness experienced a surprising upswing at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century, with wilderness tours, wilderness education, and self-experience trips into “wilderness” becoming widely established. Also, protection of “wilderness areas” which refers to such different phenomena as large forests, wild gardens, and urban wild is very much in demand. Against this background, the article looks into the material-ecological and symbolic-cultural senses of “wilderness” in the context of changing social relations to nature. Three forms of wilderness are distinguished. Adopting a socio-ecological perspective, the article builds on contemporary risk discourse.

Friedman, Thomas L. 2008. Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Renew America. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Hawken, Paul. 2007. Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World. New York: Penguin.

The Editors thank the following for their valuable help and reviews of papers submitted to Nature and Culture since spring 2008.