A Typology of U.S. Shrinking Cities

The literature on shrinking cities has significantly grown in recent years. Little work, however, has been done toward the development of a shrinking city typology, which could help inform solutions and strategies to address problems associated with population loss. With a focus on central cities, this article identifies 367 shrinking cities within the United States and categorizes them using a geographic information system to identify seven types of shrinking cities in the United States: (1) large shrinking central cities, (2) inner-ring suburbs of shrinking central cities, (3) outer-ring suburbs of shrinking central cities, (4) inner-ring suburbs of growing central cities, (5) outer-ring suburbs of growing central cities, (6) small shrinking central cities in small Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and (7) small shrinking cities in small Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The empirically generated clusters, combined with associated social and demographic information, identify separate but sometimes interrelated shrinking city types and provide a new perspective for addressing the problems faced by U.S. shrinking cities.