Less people 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Urban planning has means (roughly) organizing the build-up of cities for more people. But Germany has another task. They're working on shrinking cities.

A town near the Polish border has lost half its population in the last 30 years. The main job of Hoyerswerda's government these days is demolishing abandoned buildings, and a third of housing has already been torn down.  By 2050, it's expected that one of every three people (including little kids) in Germany will be over 65.  Picture that.

Japan's government has for years been paying its citizens to have more children without successfully moving the birth rate up to replacement level (2.1 babies per woman). Many programs, but the fertility rate is still only 1.39 babies per woman. Way below replacement.

"Because of its dismal fertility rate, Japan's population peaked in 2008; it has already shrunk by a million since then . .  At the current fertility rate, by 2100 Japan's population will be less than half what it is now."  Picture what that will look like.  Sociologist Masahiro Yamada coined a new term:  Parasaito shinguru, or "parasite single." Harsh words for a working woman who lives with her parents and spends her entire paycheck on trendy clothes, travel, restaurants - instead of building a family.

From What to Expect When No One's Expecting