Partnerships for Demolition: The Governance of Urban Renewal in East Germany’s Shrinking Cities

Abstract

This article analyses urban governance arrangements in the context of shrinking cities, focusing on urban renewal processes in eastern Germany. Challenging dominant growth-oriented governance theories, the paper shows how population decline and economic marginalisation reshape local political agendas, coalition-building practices, and public–private partnerships. Drawing on empirical evidence from the Stadtumbau Ost programme, the author argues that governance in shrinking cities is characterised less by entrepreneurial growth coalitions and more by dependency on national funding frameworks, resulting in what are described as ‘grant coalitions’. The article contributes to urban governance theory by emphasising contextual diversity and the limits of neoliberal urban policy models in regions affected by long-term decline.