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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 16, 2025

Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility

Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility

Published on: August 8, 2014

Ecology for the Shrinking City.

Dustin L Herrmann¹, Kirsten Schwarz², William D Shuster³

¹Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Research Participant Program at the US Environmental Protection Agency, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

|July 2, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Shrinking cities can leverage vacant land for ecosystem services and urban sustainability. This approach, applying urban ecology, transforms challenges into opportunities for sustainable development.

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Area of Science:

Urban Ecology
Urban Planning
Sustainability Science

Background:

Shrinking cities face long-term population loss globally.
Ecology for the city applies social-ecological understanding to urban development.
Urban transformations differ between growing and shrinking cities.

Purpose of the Study:

To integrate shrinking city concepts with urban ecology.
To explore sustainable urban transformations in depopulating cities.
To identify innovative pathways for urban sustainability in shrinking cities.

Main Methods:

Applying social-ecological principles to urban form and function.
Analyzing the potential of vacant land for ecosystem services.
Leveraging shrinking as a catalyst for social change and transformation.

Main Results:

Shrinking cities present unique opportunities for sustainable development.
Vacant land in shrinking cities can be utilized for ecosystem services.
Perceived crisis in shrinking cities can mobilize capacity for change.

Conclusions:

Ecology for the shrinking city offers distinct solutions compared to growing cities.
Innovative pathways can create desired amenities and provide ecosystem services.
Urban ecology is crucial for achieving multi-scalar sustainability in shrinking cities.