Ana Paula Barreira

Influences on citizens’ policy preferences for shrinking cities: a case study of four Portuguese cities

Population decline in cities (‘shrinking cities’) is an increasing international phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to determine citizens’ policy preferences for tackling shrinkage and to ascertain whether different causes of shrinkage lead to different preferences, on the basis of which we identify viable urban regeneration strategies to implement in Portugal’s shrinking cities. This information was obtained by a face-to-face questionnaire survey of 701 residents in four case study cities, who were asked to rank five types of policy: economic revival, safety and accessibility, public services, building interventions, and environmental actions. The results show no differences between cities regarding the policy identified by residents as being most important (economic revival). However, differences between cities in the second and third most important policies were observed and are linked to the particularities of shrinkage in each city. Furthermore, we found a strong link between the ranking of the policies and the demographic and socioeconomic profiles of respondents, which also differ between cities. Younger respondents ranked economic revival higher, whereas older residents ranked safety and accessibility higher. Building rehabilitation was ranked as important mostly by lower-income residents, whereas improvement in public services was identified as being important by the residents of smaller cities in the interior of the country. Giving voice to citizens and allowing them input into policy options appears to be of value for defining the most appropriate policies to apply in shrinking cities.

What makes people stay in or leave shrinking cities? An empirical study from Portugal

ABSTRACT The attractiveness of cities as places to live determines population movements into or out of them. Understanding the appealing features is fundamental to local governments, particularly for cities facing population decline. Pull and push attributes can include economic aspects, the availability of amenities and psychological constructs, initiating a discussion around which factors are more relevant for migration. However, such discussion has been underexplored in studies of shrinking cities. In the present study, we contribute to the discussion by identifying pull and push factors in Portuguese shrinking cities. Data were collected using a face-to-face questionnaire of 701 residents in four shrinking cities: Oporto, Barreiro, Peso da Régua and Moura. Factor analysis and automatic linear modelling were used to analyse the data. Our results show that the economic activity is the most relevant feature for retaining residents. However, characteristics specific to each city, related to heritage and natural beauty, are also shown to influence a city’s attractiveness. The cause of population shrinkage was also found to influence residents’ assessments of the pull and push attributes of each city. Furthermore, the results show the relevance of social ties and of place attachment to inhabitants’ intention to continue living in their city of residence.

Exploring residential satisfaction in shrinking cities: a decision-tree approach

The number of cities experiencing population decline has been increasing worldwide. Despite the existence of theoretical propositions of shrinkage as an opportunity to increase levels of residential satisfaction, the issue has not been addressed empirically. This article contributes to fill this gap by assessing, through survey, the residential satisfaction of inhabitants of four shrinking Portuguese cities. Data were analysed by means of a tree-decision approach: the Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection analysis. A sense of safety is the feature that best discriminates inhabitants’ level of residential satisfaction. The results show that shrinkage due to deindustrialisation processes is detrimental to residential satisfaction.

Pull attributes of the Algarve: the tourists’ view

ABSTRACT The Algarve is an internationally recognized tourist destination. The identification by tourists of the most valued attributes of this destination helps to explain the touristic demand for the Algarve. As such, the aim of this paper is twofold: to understand how tourists’ socio-demographic profile influences their assessment of the main pull attributes of the Algarve, and to understand how such assessment affects the length of stay. Data were collected using a face-to-face questionnaire survey of 554 recently arrived tourists. Our results generally support previous findings. However, two results are unexpected: (1) despite “sun and beach” being the most valued attribute of the Algarve, more educated tourists value the attribute in a complementary manner with other attributes; and (2) first-time tourists from northern European countries are less impressed with the attributes of the Algarve, and, consequently, stay for shorter periods of time compared with other tourists.

Residents’ preferred policy actions for shrinking cities

ABSTRACT Cities facing a continued and prolonged process of population decline require innovative urban regeneration policies complementary to growth-oriented policies. Losing inhabitants involves a decrease in economic activity and social capital. Therefore citizens’ participation in defining policies to cope with population decline is being increasingly advocated. This research focused on four shrinking cities of Portugal to capture residents’ knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of their city of residence as well as the policies and actions they prioritized for dealing with the population decline. The responses from 701 questionnaires show that economic revival policies as well as safety and accessibility policies were preferred. To put these policies into action, the recovery of industrial activity, the creation of business incubators, an improvement in law enforcement, and public lighting were ranked as top priorities. Rank-ordered logistic regression models were used to understand which variables influenced the residents’ rankings. We found that the evaluation of the citys characteristics impact the ranking of the policies and actions. Hence, residents show a high level of coherence when engaging in a discussion at the level of policy-making. Therefore, the findings support residents’ involvement in decision-making processes regarding urban regeneration in shrinking cities.

Satisfied but thinking about leaving: the reasons behind residential satisfaction and residential attractiveness in shrinking Portuguese cities

ABSTRACT Creating liveable cities is a policy priority, especially for cities that are experiencing population loss. A decline in the number of inhabitants is commonly associated with low levels of residential satisfaction. However, such a supposition does not often find empirical support in shrinking cities. In the present study, we identify variables that influence the level of residential satisfaction, as well as those influencing residential attraction (captured by the intention of current residents to leave their city in the near future). The study is based on a face-to-face questionnaire administered to 701 residents in four shrinking Portuguese cities. As expected, lower levels of residential satisfaction lead to an increased intention to leave the city. The results also show that the variables explaining residential satisfaction mostly differ from those explaining residential attractiveness. The specific characteristics of each city influence citizens’ assessment of residential satisfaction, but the variables impacting residential attractiveness are universal.

What Is More Important to Residents: A City’s Attractiveness or Citizens’ Residential Satisfaction? An Analysis of the Explanatory Attributes in Shrinking Cities of Portugal

Research into shrinking cities (population decline) has captured the attention of scholars as the phenomenon spreads in Europe. Empirical studies have shown that residents in shrinking cities experience satisfaction from living in cities with declining populations. This paper examines how inhabitants in shrinking cities assess their level of residential satisfaction and the features that make their city attractive, using a face-to-face questionnaire survey (N = 701) conducted in four Portuguese cities that have been experiencing population decline over the last two decades (1991–2011). The results show that individuals’ levels of residential satisfaction are high in shrinking cities. Inhabitants’ expressed level of residential satisfaction does not mean that they are not confronted with residential issues that may impel them to move out of the cities. As such, assessing residential satisfaction may be different from measuring the attractive and unattractive features of a city as a place to live. The attributes of the cities that gave higher levels of residential satisfaction varied substantially between cities, but the most important attributes for making cities attractive places in which to live varied only slightly. When respondents were asked about the existing attributes that may impel individuals to move out, economic attributes emerged as the most important, but in only a few cases were those attributes related to residential dissatisfaction. Accordingly, no single answer can be provided to the question of whether a city’s attractiveness or citizens’ residential satisfaction matters more. Either the former or the latter may be considered more important depending on whether shrinkage reversion or shrinkage acceptance, respectively, is the strategy adopted by a particular city.