Empirical research on urban shrinkage is being conducted around the globe, since many countries are confronted with the phenomenon of shrinking cities. So far, the research on urban shrinkage has focused strongly on case studies, which is why we can benefit from a diverse and empirically rich knowledge base on the phenomenon and its regional manifestations. By bridging and comparing the European and Japanese academic discourse, we aim to identify the different recurring theories and key issues discussed under the umbrella term ‘urban shrinkage’ and strive to uncover blind spots of the debate. For this purpose, we conduct a qualitative meta-analysis of 100 empirical cases that are documented in the literature dealing with shrinking cities in the EU and Japan. This meta-analysis is based on comparative qualitative content analysis. It reveals a regionally differentiated pattern of various causes, effects and responses documented for shrinking cities in Western, Mediterranean and post-socialist EU countries and in Japan. Based on these findings, we offer an agenda for future research by suggesting an integrative perspective on the context-specific dynamics of urban shrinkage. We argue for an integrative understanding of shrinking cities in order to develop a valid knowledge base for evidence-based policy recommendations.

This study aims to identify the influence of the socioeconomic attributes and environmental contexts of citizens’ residential areas on the access and use of green areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results can aid policymaking and facilitate the safe and unrestricted use of green areas during the pandemic. The access and use of green areas were analyzed using a survey conducted after the official COVID-19 emergency in Japan (16 April to 14 May, 2020). Visits to green areas during the pandemic have gained salience globally from multiple perspectives: health, planning, social justice, and equity. The results of this study demonstrated that socioeconomic factors influenced the frequency of visiting green areas. The factors further influenced the use of the three categories of green areas (parks, agricultural lands, and gardens). Environmental contexts, including the land use patterns in residential areas, also influenced the use of specific types of green areas. Thus, policies need to further facilitate visits to green areas by reflecting the socioeconomic attributes of residents and their households, including income, number of children, gender, and age, incorporating those who have less access and considering the spread of COVID-19 locally. Furthermore, policies for the use of specific green areas, including parks, agricultural lands, and gardens, need to take cognizance of the residents’ environmental contexts. Management of specific green areas, like agricultural lands, is required, and residents should be provided with opportunities to use these areas with measures to avoid infection.

The mangrove ecosystems which provide diverse benefits to local communities are vulnerable to natural and human-induced threats. Existing policies and decision-makers in the Philippines are gearing towards the integration of physical, ecological, and social elements in managing these ecosystems. To date, the linkage between the policies and the direct beneficiaries (i.e. coastal communities) of the ecosystem services is, however, largely unexplored from local perspectives applying quantitative methodology. Thus, we conducted household surveys to the coastal villagers in Eastern Samar. By doing so, we provide basic information for the scientists and policymakers on the following elements of one the blue carbon ecosystems, mangroves; (1) resource utilization, (2) level of awareness on ecosystem services and existing management plans, and (3) perceptions on natural and anthropogenic threats. Results of the survey show that the utilization of mangrove ecosystem services is influenced by social demography and level of awareness of the locals. The trends of the locals’ utilization and perceptions on the diverse ecosystem services may provide evidence for their active involvement in protecting these resources. To enable more holistic and sustainable management, this study suggests the value of including coastal communities in contextualizing management plans, particularly for the areas often visited by natural hazards.

Seagrasses offer diverse ecosystem services, yet, they are among the most threatened ecosystems. When degraded or destroyed, their services are lost or reduced in the process, affecting, for instance, local communities directly dependent on their livelihood provision. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that climate change is projected to worsen over time; thus, there is an urgent need for mitigation strategies in practice and also in the longer term. This work aims to provide an alternative perspective of seagrass restoration as a nature based solution (NbS) on a global scale, yet, giving an emphasis on tropical regions such as Indonesia. We focused on seagrass restorations which are not yet well established in comparison with other restoration programs (e.g., mangroves) despite their critical roles. We present in this work how restoring seagrass meadows fits the global standard of NbS published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The results of this study can serve as a basis for promoting seagrass restorations as NbS against climate change particularly in countries with a wide extent of seagrass coverage.

Geographical Indications (GIs) are collective intellectual property rights that protect food and other products uniquely linked to the production area, local geophysical conditions, and traditions, namely, with the terroir. Thus, GIs can contribute to the transmission and retention of culinary heritages and historical production practices. Based on an analysis of application documents, we compare the historical linkages of all the Japanese and Austrian GIs’ products. Although more than one-half of the Japanese applications refer to historical roots in the 20th century, the median of the Austrian GIs’ linkages is in the 17th century. To closely examine these GIs’ linkages, and to better understand their relevance to current cultivation practices, we compare three Japanese cases with roots of diverging depth to the first Austrian GI regarding motivations, geographical and historical linkages, and current cultivation practices and governance. The comparison found that all four products refer to the historical roots of the product name, the product varieties, or cultivation techniques. However, deeper roots do not automatically translate into higher priorities of protecting these historical linkages. The four in-depth case studies found that historic provenance and traditional production methods, although prominently highlighted in the official GI documents of all four GIs, are eclipsed by commercial motivations for GI protection and/or current production practices. In the cases analyzed, we find some potential mismatch between GI historical claims in registration documents and actual GI cultivation and GI management practices. We did not find “museums of production” or overly fixed perceptions of history, but the collective action of the producer group has resulted in dynamic local cultivation practices, manifested in the protection of local farmers and their heritages without restricting innovation