From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Honey, I shrunk the city. Bold new ideas for dealing with declining urban centers.

I'm Sarah Terry sitting in for Warren Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Redefining urban landscapes.

A new movement for grappling with dying cities has emerged in recent years.

It focuses on intentionally shrinking cityscapes instead of just coping with the wreckage of decline.

Flint, Michigan is on the cutting edge of this experiment.

Why are government officials turning some abandoned lots back over to Mother Nature?

Can urban decline be turned into a new kind of urban renewal?

On reporter's notebook, it's been a big weekend sports, on the court, in the field, and, oh yeah, on the ice.

First, the news.

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whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine

T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation, supporting social entrepreneurs around the world,

uncommon heroes dedicated to the common good. Learn more at scole.org.

I'm Sarah Terry, sitting in for Warren Olney. We're back with To the Point from PRI.

For years, urban planning has been all about growth. But in recent years, with the decline of American manufacturing,

a whole new school of thought has emerged. It's all about shrinking, not growing. As more

and more metropolitan areas lose populations and healthy tax bases,

how are cities coming up with new solutions to control the change

instead of simply trying to cope with it?

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