This paper questions the widely applied parallelism of demographic and economic development in characterizing urban … recommendations for combating urban shrinkage. As the cases of several Ruhr cities (Essen, Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund) and East German … cities (Erfurt, Rostock and Magdeburg) prove, urban economic growth can also be achieved thanks to the substantial presence …

Urban systems, and regions more generally, are the epicenters of many of today's social issues. Yet they are also the …