Since the turn of the millennium, cities across Europe have persistently lost population while their surrounding metropolitan areas grew. These divergent dynamics have reshaped the relationships between urban centers and their suburbs. Moreover, the contrasting demographic trends challenge the widely held perception of large urban regions as exclusively places of growth. These divergent dynamics question the urban policies and planning implemented in European central cities.
Paris and Madrid, two Western-European capital regions rarely analyzed from this perspective, experiment intense population loss whereas their metropolitan areas grow both demographically and economically. Both central cities are aging at a faster pace than their surroundings. This research project will undertake an in-depth examination of the socio-demographic shifts in Paris and Madrid over the last decade to determine the intensity and geography of change in the two metropolitan areas, the emergent challenges resulting from population shrinkage, and the (in)effectiveness of planning responses.
- First, statistical and spatial analysis will be used to determine the intensity and persistence of the demographic shifts as well as its effects (aging, shifts in public or private services, etc.).
- Second, qualitative analysis will be used to gauge the impacts of population shrinkage on the urban population, particularly on the older adults of 65 years and above. Specifically, we will explore how urban residents who decide or are obliged to live in the city handle, resist or profit from demographic shifts.
- Finally, the research project will question the extent to which planning considers (or underestimates) population shrinkage at several distinct spatial scales (municipality, metropolitan/regional government, estate policies).
