ABSTRACT
In this context, public spaces may become an arena for experimenting with new forms of planning and development for this explicit purpose. To integrate performative planning theory and practice into the curricula, the authors argues an important task for planning education. After German reunification, major economic restructuring processes accelerated and led to a double phenomenon of shrinkage, especially in East Germany but also in the West. Shrinking cities, however, are not only hit by reductions in economic strength and population, but also by a need for multidimensional adaptations of their urban development strategies. The will of local stakeholders or decision makers to resort to cultural interventions as tools in urban development is most probably highly dependent on the alternatives at hand; in the case of shrinking towns, the established routines seem inadequate and incapable of mobilising local stakeholders. When examining the examples of Aschersleben and Magdeburg, they find that the performative actions initiated were much more than just short-lived 'events'.
