Why do some cities grow and are prosperous whereas others shrink and decline? VOLKER EICHENER investigates the key factors that determine the development of a city and also suggests a strategy for declining cities to reverse this trend. As he explains in this video, he examined population growth or decline in a given city as well as economic variables, such as industry, age, or social structure and used these data for building a multiple regression model. What he found is rather surprising: a city is either declining or growing but it does not find a balance – in contrast to the prediction of conventional economic theory. Cities are thus bound by a spiral dynamics and declining cities suffer from what Eichener calls ‘shrinking syndrome’. To counter this, he suggests a strategy of ‘active internationalization’ that uses the opportunities globalization offers, such as attracting innovative businesses, international talent and tourism.