According to the European Union, vast regions in Europe, Russia and Japan are currently the parts of the world in which population growth is expected to be lowest over the next few years. In the next decades, different regions in Spain and Europe could become "demographic deserts", regions where the population density falls below 3 inhabitants/km2. Some areas in Spain, Russia, Romania and Bulgaria are already demographic deserts, regions where cities and villages have lost the majority of its population, due to economic crisis and other historic factors. These are the so called Shrinking regions.
The concept of the ‘shrinking region’ is a recent one (the term was coined at the beginning of the current decade), even though this phenomenon goes back many years. What is essentially new here is that in some cases the phenomenon of depopulation has now come to affect entire regions, including urban areas (‘shrinking cities’).The very definition of the concept is still the subject of debate. Even if the phenomenon of population decline is linked to other events, such as ageing, it is preferable to stand by the simplest definition, which is the reduction in the number of inhabitants of a particular region over the course of a generation. This is therefore the option that is commonly adopted.
The emergence of shrinking regions are well-known phenomena in countries such as Germany, USA, Russia or Japan, but are quite new in other geographical areas, such as southern Europe. According to the most recent predictions, by 2030 many regions of Northern Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania will be shrinking regions heavily affected by very strong ageing processes, both in urban and rural areas.
The existence of shrinking regions and demographic deserts (spaces in demographic crisis in other words), has implications in social, economic an environmental terms. From the socioeconomic point of view, demographic decline means not only a social, but also economic impoverishment, an increase in inter-regional cohesion and a great challenge to sustain basic services such as health and education. From the environmental and cultural point of view the effects are simply devastating: loss of cultural heritage, degradation of landscapes and ecosystems, increase in the effects of natural risks as erosion or forest fires etc. Demographic decline and ageing form therefore a complex system of interactions involving economic, social, political and environmental aspects and it is impossible to take a sectoral approach to the problem. From this viewpoint the concept of territorial cohesion constitutes the most relevant deliberative framework for developing an integrated approach to demographic questions for it specifically includes the territorial dimension associated with these phenomena
SiCC has in the shrinking regions the second of the research objectives, especially its territorial dimension from a strategic and integrative approach. Through different research and fieldwork we try to provide answer to these challenges:
- Which regions (especially rural areas) are declining and why.
- Which environmental effects has the abandonment of territories.
- Which social impacts has the demographic decline, especially concerning territorial and social cohesion.
- How can we cope with demographic decline and re-size services, infrastructures and administration to adapt them to this reality.
- How to stop this process, especially in regions where already the ageing process is severe, thorough strategic planning tools aiming at attracting new families and youngsters, creating jobs and maintaining a minimal stantard of life quality.
Some links to this topic:
- Shrinking cities project
- Blog on abandoned spaces in the shrinking region of Aragon
- EU Project "Shrinksmart"
- CEDDAR (Research Institute on Rural Areas depopulation
SiCC has in the shrinking regions the second of the research objectives, especially its territorial dimension from a strategic and integrative approach. Through different research and fieldwork we try to provide answer to these challenges:
- Which regions (especially rural areas) are declining and why.
- Which environmental effects has the abandonment of territories.
- Which social impacts has the demographic decline, especially concerning territorial and social cohesion.
- How can we cope with demographic decline and re-size services, infrastructures and administration to adapt them to this reality.
- How to stop this process, especially in regions where already the ageing process is severe, thorough strategic planning tools aiming at attracting new families and youngsters, creating jobs and maintaining a minimal stantard of life quality.
Some links to this topic:
- Shrinking cities project
- Blog on abandoned spaces in the shrinking region of Aragon
- EU Project "Shrinksmart"
- CEDDAR (Research Institute on Rural Areas depopulation
