ABSTRACT
Urban shrinkage is predominantly linked to major economic reasons such as deindustrialization and the new territorializing of capital. Likewise, economic restructuring is one of the causes of urban shrinkage in Russia. However, natural population decline is an equally influential factor, making Russian shrinking cities, along with those in Japan and South Korea, “atypical” in the “Westcentric” perspective. This chapter focuses on spatial planning instruments for managing the physical consequences of urban shrinkage. Its aim is to research the trajectory of shrinkage and summarize spatial planning instruments utilized in the Russian context along with corresponding limitations. The empirical evidence is drawn from the city of Kirovsk located in Murmanskaya oblast (Murmansk region) above the Arctic circle. In 2020, Kirovsk was listed in the top 20% of company towns that are recognized by the Russian Government as most comfortable for residents.
