Coping with shrinkage: Rebranding post-industrial Manchester

This paper investigates the role that flagship developments are having in the regeneration agenda of cities experiencing urban shrinkage. It focuses on Manchester, archetypical example of a post-industrial shrinking city that has been able to return to the growth paradigm. Using an exploratory case study methodology, this paper analyses the spillover effects of pro-growth approaches tackling urban shrinkage. It first compiles and critically assesses its multiple flagship developments, in order to study Manchester's decay process by opposing it to the initiatives that are coping with it. It will then go on to analyse the social consequences of those initiatives and to examine the factors that can burden the city's further development. The paper argues that even though Manchester has performed well in the political game, and cosmetically improved certain areas, its flagship developments have not been able to fix the economic or social problems derived from its decay.