Do Cities need to grow or can they shrink to be healthy and prosperous??

In an effort of turning necessity into a virtue, the term "shrinking cities" has not so much become a cry of fear and horror but a battle cry of massively disinvested cities such as Detroit (USA) or  Dessau (Germany) which try via shrinkage to make the city sustainable. "Where buildings fall landscapes arise" is one of the slogans of a German exhibit about shrinking cities. Kent University created an Institute for Shrinking Cities. Detroit has engaged creatives of all stripes to seek benefits of extra space.

However attractive the idea sounds for those who have long doubted that growth can be an everlasting pattern (The Limits of Growth, 1972), can shrinkage coexist with prosperity?

Is a shrinking city the truly sustainable city or is urban farming and landscapes springing from abandoned neighborhoods an anti-urban aberration ultimately promoting sprawl?

Comment here and express your opinions, we will use them at the AIA event on October 12 at RTKL's office on 910 Bond Street in Fells Point.
Urban experts David Dixon, FAIA and Tom Murphy will explore the topic. Dixon most recently racked up plenty of experience in massively shrunk New Orleans when he was instrumental in the rebuilding schemes there. Murphy is a Fellow at the Urban Land Institute and has rescued Pittsburgh as mayor from the brink of irrelevance to become the destination for one of the international G-9 summits.