Author(s)

Stella Manika

Department of Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.

Shrinking cities (i.e., regions, cities, towns, or metropolitan areas that are facing population reductions and intense economic and social transformation) typically include an abundance of abandoned residential units, office buildings, and vacant shops. Strongly affected by the recent economic and financial crisis, Greek cities have shown strong signs of urban shrinkage with thousands of businesses closing down since 2011. These vacant properties can be reclaimed for new uses, in particular for the development of new working styles and forms of sharing economy, with the view to promote innovation and growth. Sharing economy and co-working spaces or makerspaces can play a crucial role to support social and professional interaction and promote the innovative and “smart” development of the city. This paper develops a methodological and conceptual framework to examine and document the localized hotspots of urban shrinkage that could be used as co-working spaces in Larissa, a typical medium-sized Greek city. The framework to identify the optimal localised hotspots in Larisa (i.e. vacant commercial spaces to be considered as viable co-working spaces) was based on the results of the literature review and the analysis of the respective spatial and quantitative data. These hotspots can become dynamic nodes of a network structure at a city scale contributing to the renaissance of its economic, social, and innovative profile.

Shrinking Cities, Smart Cities, Innovation, Sharing Economy, Co-Working Spaces, Urban Renaissance, Urban Policies, Sense of Community

Manika, S. (2020) Transforming Vacant Commercial Spaces: From Localized Hotspots of Urban Shrinkage to “Smart” Co-Working Places. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 8, 86-97. doi: 10.4236/jss.2020.86009.