Central Government Policies towards Declining Urban Economies in Western Europe and the United States of America

Most large urban areas in the advanced market-economy nations of the West are experiencing a decentralization trend, with population and industrial employment moving from central city to suburb. In some large metropolitan areas the entire area is losing population, and employment is either growing very slowly or declining. In the United States of America and the United Kingdom these trends have triggered a substantial amount of public concern and debate and a variety of policies designed to focus on the problems of large urban economies. In most European countries, however, metropolitan population and employment stabilization or decline are either not perceived as problems or are just beginning to be seen as such. Indeed, in many of these countries the decentralization of population and employment from large urban areas is seen as consistent with the long-term objectives of regional policy.

This article first summarizes urban-area population and employment trends in the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the Federal Republic of Germany. It then examines the way in which these trends are perceived in each of these countries and, in particular, whether they are thought to represent a ‘problem’. Finally, it sets forth and analyzes the public policies adopted by the national governments to address these problems, to the extent they are perceived to exist.