Small towns resisting urban decay through residential attractiveness: Findings from Denmark

TY - JOUR

T1 - Small towns resisting urban decay through residential attractiveness

T2 - Findings from Denmark

AU - Fertner, Christian

AU - Groth, Niels Boje

AU - Herslund, Lise Byskov

AU - Carstensen, Trine Agervig

PY - 2015/7/3

Y1 - 2015/7/3

N2 - Small towns are often considered as losing out in the current trend towards urban development. However, research from around Europe shows a great diversity of small town development, including successful development trajectories despite geographical disadvantages. Investigations into this are predominately done in the context of economic development and urban systems, but such approaches fail to explain why a number of small towns that are not centrally located near a metropolitan region are not in decay. This paper examines how the restructuring of retail and service sectors, demographic composition, residential migration, social organisation and community engagement form and affect small town (1000–5000 inhabitants) development patterns in Denmark and specific place-based endowments. The study is carried out with mixed methods, comprising a quantitative analysis of development trends, complemented by qualitative case studies in six small towns. Our findings show how favourable development paths are a combination of a positive development in population, provision of daily commodities and attractive housing, and a high number of local voluntary social organisations. Introducing the concept of ‘residential urbanism’, the paper discusses the extent to which a residentially driven urban development can compensate for the generally unfavourable regional development context

AB - Small towns are often considered as losing out in the current trend towards urban development. However, research from around Europe shows a great diversity of small town development, including successful development trajectories despite geographical disadvantages. Investigations into this are predominately done in the context of economic development and urban systems, but such approaches fail to explain why a number of small towns that are not centrally located near a metropolitan region are not in decay. This paper examines how the restructuring of retail and service sectors, demographic composition, residential migration, social organisation and community engagement form and affect small town (1000–5000 inhabitants) development patterns in Denmark and specific place-based endowments. The study is carried out with mixed methods, comprising a quantitative analysis of development trends, complemented by qualitative case studies in six small towns. Our findings show how favourable development paths are a combination of a positive development in population, provision of daily commodities and attractive housing, and a high number of local voluntary social organisations. Introducing the concept of ‘residential urbanism’, the paper discusses the extent to which a residentially driven urban development can compensate for the generally unfavourable regional development context

KW - Urban planning

KW - city planning

KW - small towns

KW - Demography

KW - aging population

KW - migration

KW - Urban development

U2 - 10.1080/00167223.2015.1060863

DO - 10.1080/00167223.2015.1060863

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0016-7223

VL - 115

SP - 119

EP - 132

JO - Geografisk Tidsskrift/Danish Journal of Geography

JF - Geografisk Tidsskrift/Danish Journal of Geography

IS - 2

ER -