90

Research on shrinking cities has focused on the decline of city centers in different national settings, demonstrating that urban shrinkage is a global phenomenon with various adjustments at the local scale. This paper aims to shift the focus to suburban decline using the case of Chicago’s South Suburbs. Drawing from the examples of five shrinking suburban communities, this article shows that inner cities and suburbs increasingly face similar concerns. However, although they are confronted with issues similar to those of the urban core, small suburban cities do not have the same resources available. Therefore, their policy regarding residential vacancy relies mostly on demolition, which is encouraged by the requirements attached to urban redevelopment funds. In the absence of any metropolitan governance of decline, these shrinking suburbs’ creation of an organization fostering regional cooperation illustrates how institutional innovation can support joint efforts to face urban decline.