'Shrinking Cities', curated by Philipp Oswalt, project managed by John Byrne / Paul Domela.

After decades of urban decline and deindustrialisation, in the last 15 years Manchester and Liverpool achieved a remarkable urban regeneration of their city centres, which became a model for other cities. But the benefits of renewal have bypassed many of their neighbourhoods and communities, leaving pockets of high unemployment, social exclusion, and abandonment.

The Shrinking Cities project is funded by the German Cultural Foundation and investigates the process of urban shrinkage. Since 2002 it has worked with an international network of more than 200 artists, architects, filmmakers, academics, and local initiatives. Its focus is primarily developments in the US, UK, Germany, Russia, and Japan. After several large exhibitions in Europe, North America, and Asia, Shrinking Cities is coming to the UK for the first time, presenting its international investigations with over 80 exhibition works.

CUBE — Centre for the Urban Built Environment, Manchester, is hosting the first part of the exhibition, Shrinking Cities: International Research, which examines the phenomenon of urban decline in Manchester/Liverpool, Detroit (USA), Halle/Leipzig (Germany), and Ivanovo (Russian Federation). Themes include a worldwide study of shrinking cities, the change in urban landscapes, everyday practices, and political conflicts under the conditions of urban decline.

At RENEW Rooms, Liverpool, a thematic focus is given to the subject of polarisation, examining the conditions in northern England and greater Detroit.

The second part of the exhibition, Shrinking Cities: Interventions, is being hosted by Site, Liverpool John Moores University’s art gallery at the Albert Dock, Liverpool, and presents models of action. The projects range from artistic interventions and self-empowerment strategies through architectural, landscape, media, and performance interventions all the way to new legal regulations and utopian visions.

Visit the Shrinking Cities Website: