ABSTRACT
Ostrava, as the third biggest city in Czechia, is the regional capital of the Moravian-Silesian region, which has been losing economic attractiveness and population since 1990 because of its former dependence on coal mining and iron and steel production and processing. Such losing cities can be termed “shrinking cities”, as urban shrinkage is a pathway of urban development characterized by declining numbers of inhabitants. This chapter analyzes the trajectory and causes of the population and economic shrinkage in Ostrava during the period from 1990 to 2019. It describes the consequences of this urban shrinkage for the policymaking and governance structures as well as the processes and projects of economic and urban regeneration. The chapter determines whether Ostrava will be a shrinking city in terms of demographic and economic development. It uses the emerging regrowth theory as a comparative contrasting framework for the assessment of policy initiatives dealing with demographic and economic shrinkage and influencing the desirable population and economic regrowth.
