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--� .-.. 2. Characterization of Declining Inner-City Neighbourhoods 2.1. General Geographic Models of Decline The period since the early 1960s has, for many central cities, been marked by dramatic decline in both the social and physical infrastructure of inner-city neighbourhoods. Areas that once had thriving businesses and strong communities have been transformed into neighbourhoods with abandoned buildings and jobless residents (Wilson 1987, 1996; Jargowsky 1996; Koebel 1996; Madden 2�0; Cohen 2001; CMHC 2001; Lynn and McGeary 1990; Smith 1973; Jones 1979; Robson 1988; Carley 1990; Glennerster et al. 1999; Randolph and Judd 1999; Townsend 1987). Among OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, two general groupings can be distinguished: those with a strong geographical concentration of urban decline, showing consistent disparities between these areas and the rest of the city (e.g. France, Ireland, the UK and the USA); and those who may have areas of high relative unemployment and low relative income but where these characteristics do not appear to be linked as closely to other signs of multiple deprivation as they are in the first group (e.g. Canada, Finland, Spain and Sweden) (Kamal-Chaoui 2001). In some countries, decline is mainly located in city centres. This is the case of the United States and Canada, where many metropolitan areas have been emptied, with not only residents but also economic activities relocating to suburban areas. In other countries, urban decline develops in peripheral areas, generally associated with large, multi-family social housing units have been built on greenfield sites on the periphery of the city or in neighbouring municipalities as part of a planned expansion to cope with population growth (Carley 1990, Kamal-Chaoui 2001, Randolph and Judd 1999). These areas were also designed to re-house low-income families displaced by inner-city redevelopment projects. As a result, many of these outlying housing estates were poorly served by road links or public transportation and lacked amenities such as day care centres and schools, and community, cultural and leisure facilities. This pattern is typical of France, but similar developments can be found in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and major cities in Southern Europe (Kamal-Chaoui 2001). Certain cities combine the two types of models. In some cases, the mix is a deliberate outcome of government policy. 2.2. The United States Experience Serious social, economic, and physical problems face the American city. As noted by Koebel (1996, pp.6-7): The shift of population to the suburbs started slowly in the 1950s, accelerated in the1970s, and peaked in the 1980s. The middle class - both white and black - in large measure moved to the suburbs. Sensitive to the location of affluence, retail trade �