| dc.description.abstract | The number of citizens living in urban areas worldwide is predicted to increase in future
decades. However, this projected increase is mainly due to the magnetic power of so-called
megacities. Worldwide, many intermediate cities, especially in the most developed countries,
have had considerable population losses in the past decades and this trend is expected to
continue.
When a city loses a high percentage of its population within a short period of time, the traces
of that loss become strongly apparent. Abandonment is followed by dereliction, such that the
urban fabric can become randomly punctuated with uninhabited spaces where previously present
human constructions have been destroyed, and social instability can ensue. The attraction of the
city to newcomers then becomes increasingly compromised, and the cycle of decline is harder to
overcome. Some cities have developed strategies to redress the situation, such as restricting urban
sprawl, demolitions, urban agriculture, rightsizing infrastructure or permitting biodiversity
sanctuaries. However, few academic studies have focused on the ways that residents, and
potential newcomers, perceive this situation and react to it. Obtaining a deeper understanding of
residents¹ perceptions might allow the development of targeted strategies to promote healthier,
more attractive and safer environments for these communities, as well as enhancing their
potential for newcomers.
The research aim, therefore, is to understand the key factors that determine the attractiveness
of these urban abandoned spaces for different stakeholder groups, namely, residents of
depopulating, and growing, neighbourhoods, and house searchers. Three different methods were
used sequentially to explore this quest: interviews with experts, focus groups and conjoint
analysis. Conjoint analysis is one of the most robust methods to explore people¹s preferences, by
presenting respondents with possible future change scenarios. The study was undertaken in
Lisbon (PT) and Genoa (IT), two southern European cities that have experienced population
decline, in some areas, in the last three decades.
The results of the interviews and focus groups, for both cities, show that while people are
naturally resilient to de-densification scenarios, one key concern, when discussing their
neighbourhoods in this context, is related to community support. The results from the conjoint
analysis corroborate the importance of having a close community for people living in
depopulating environments, namely, in Lisbon. The results also show that good quality green
spaces are an attraction factor for house searchers. These differences show how the provision of
social support in depopulating urban environments might be a determining factor in the
stabilization of these neighbourhoods and also, how the presence of good quality green spaces
might enhance its attractiveness to newcomers.
Social support, therefore, should be given serious consideration in any political, social,
architectural intervention within depopulating contexts. Moreover, the presence of green spaces
of better quality might be not only a key factor in attracting new residents, but simultaneously,
play a crucial role in enhancing the physical and mental health of particularly vulnerable
communities, and enhance social interaction. | en |
