Levels of social disparity in a shrinking setting: A case of shrinking cities of Khuzestan Province, Iran

Abstract

With increasing prevalence, severity, persistence, and geographical incidence, cities have faced shrinkage during the past half century. Urban planners have paid special attention to shrinking cities. The concept of urban shrinkage has turned into a fixed base of research for many urban studies. While urban planning debates of recent years have mainly focused on the economic and environmental dimensions of shrinking cities, social dimensions are usually neglected despite their importance. This chapter aims at the socio-spatial differences and the relationship between the negative rate of population growth and the level of social development in the shrinking cities of Khuzestan province as an oil-rich province in Iran. The results show that there are great differences among the shrinking cities in terms of social factors, and surprisingly, the cities that have experienced more shrinkage have more social development. © 2018, IGI Global. All rights reserved.