De quoi le « smart shrinkage » est-il le nom ? Les ambiguïtés des politiques de décroissance planifiée dans les villes américaines

In the last few years, American shrinking cities have set up new strategies to deal with urban decline. These « smart shrinkage » strategies are characterized by a will to rightsize the city and by criticizing the growth dogma which is dominant in urban policies. Sometimes considered as progressive alternatives, these strategies are also criticized for their limits and ambiguities. Through a literature review, this article aims at assessing these strategies. It highlights the pitfall of the opposition between expert works, on the one hand, and critical analysis, on the other hand. Without denying the innovative feature in these policies and their potential contribution to put into question the growth dogma, it pleads for a better understanding of the diversity of these policies and the importance of local contexts and political choices in their analysis.