Self-responsibilization, the municipality, and the state

Autor(en)

Katrin Großmann, Ria-Maria Adams, Alla Bolotova, Johanna Lilius, Maria Gunko, Sven Messerschmidt, Leona Sandmann

Abstrakt

The literature on shrinking cities often portrays local initiatives in two contrasting ways: either as marginal, powerless, and somewhat backwards-oriented actors, or as human capital, a resource for development, and even as the hope for a more democratic development. However, there is a risk that scholarship unintentionally contributes to local initiatives being included in neoliberal development agendas. During our field research in two small, shrinking, and peripheralized towns in Finland and Germany, we discovered that both perspectives are misleading. They distract from the actual conditions of the initiatives' work, the causes of their financial or demographic precarity, and the self-responsibilization that is common among such initiatives. Scarcity motivates a DI(F)Y approach, organizing services and amenities on limited resources to enhance the quality of life in the area. This limited availability may seem like a natural result of population decline. By comparing the German and Finnish cases, we can see how state policies towards peripheral areas affect the work of local initiatives. This demonstrates that precarity in shrinking places is a result of policies rather than demographic development trajectory.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie

Externe Organisation(en)

Fachhochschule Erfurt, Aalto University, University of Oxford

Journal

Cities

Band

150

Seiten

1-10

Anzahl der Seiten

10

ISSN

0264-2751

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.105067

Publikationsdatum

07-2024

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

507015 Regionalforschung

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Development, Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management, Sociology and Political Science, Urban Studies

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 11 – Nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinden

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/6dd6d2dc-8ad5-4c7f-aa6f-c410a6560474