Rust in My Blood: Planning for Urban Population Decline

By Joanna Ganning

How can shrinking cities help their residents thrive? Rust in My Blood: Planning for Urban Population Decline explores why America's postindustrial cities have tended to focus on rebounding at all costs, and how they can make strategic decisions that prioritize quality of life over population growth instead. Combining personal storytelling with case studies, author Joanna Ganning--a planning professor and native of West Virginia-- advances theory (including in some controversial areas), offers practical strategies for professionals, and meaningfully connects lived experiences with scholarship. Includes case studies of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Gary, Indiana, and Charleston, West Virginia; personal vignettes emphasize why these cities matter beyond their postindustrial economies, especially to the people who live in and continue to love them. Written for general audiences, planning practitioners, and classroom use.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558444785
• ISBN13: 9781558444782
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
• Length: 250 Pages