Graduation Semester and Year
Fall 2024
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Public Policy
Department
Urban and Public Affairs
First Advisor
Hannah Lebovits
Second Advisor
Ivonne Audirac
Third Advisor
Ardeshir Anjomani
Abstract
This research investigates the rightsizing strategies of a mid-sized, shrinking city in Ohio, to explore the tensions and complexities that rightsizing efforts introduce into the urban governance landscape. The questions that guide this research draw on the theories of rightsizing to reveal the ways in which rightsizing efforts implemented by city officials enabled economic revitalization as well as cultivated a pipeline to urban growth efforts. The research findings contribute to our understanding of rightsizing by revealing the ways that shrinking cities struggle to fully adopt rightsizing as its own end goal, rather than a means to a growth-oriented urban landscape.
This research aims to inform the more extensive debate on rightsizing concerning small and medium-sized shrinking cities by studying the built environment rightsizing strategies implemented by the City of Lorain. Through a single case design method, I highlight the inherent tensions and complications that rightsizing presents for the urban governance system. I reveal the ways in which rightsizing efforts are a pre-growth process and, in analyzing these findings more deeply, articulate five critical tensions of applied rightsizing in small cities. The significance of this research can be found in its ability to add clarity and complexity to our depictions of a process that is typically thought of as linear and simple. Furthermore, this research offers practical insights for cities, highlighting the tensions and successes inherent to the rightsizing approach.
Keywords
shrinking cities, rightsizing, new economy, planning, urban governance
Disciplines
Urban, Community and Regional Planning
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Riera, Alfonso, "THE INTERPLAY OF RIGHTSIZING AND GROWTH STRATEGIES IN LEGACY URBAN COMMUNITIES" (2024). Planning Dissertations. 62.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/planning_dissertations/62