| Abstract [eng] |
Currently the depopulation in all Lithuania is seemed to be a huge problem. Except capital Vilnius and two other major cities, the rest of the country suffers great population decline. Previously strong industrial cities are one of those territories that are losing inhabitants at fastest rates. Šiauliai city, located at the Northern part of Lithuania, was chosen as a case study example to research urban shrinkage in Lithuania. In around 30 years period the city has lost one third of its inhabitants. The shrinkage is still continuing. However, in the city there might be noticed the posters that have been prepared by activists of the city, and these posters state that ‘Not everything is lost yet’. But do the posters tell the truth or are they only stand as utopian phrases prepared to make the citizens happier? Can we see the “bright future” of the city? To what extend the policy makers realized the ongoing shrinkage phenomena and how they are dealing with it? These are the questions that raise discussions, and I will try to answer these questions in my presentation supporting the answer with the information received from interviews with local authorities, stake-holders and experts. In general, the purpose of my presentation is to introduce with urban shrinkage in Lithuania using an example of fourth biggest city and regional center in Lithuania – Šiauliai city. Therefore, in my presentation before talking about the city authorities’ response to shrinkage, I will give summarized overview of the main reasons why the city shrinks and what consequences the population loss brings to the city. The presentation is based on information collected during the post-doctoral research that is supported by Research Council of Lithuania (grant No. DOTSUT-149 (09.3.3-LMT-K-712-02-0062). |
