Planning Culture and Local Agents of Change: Shaping Urban Transition in a Shrinking Polish City

The article analyses regeneration processes in a medium‐sized city in Central and Eastern Europe, using Leszno (Poland) as an example. Particular emphasis is placed on investment conflicts, policy learning, and the challenges associated with urban decline. The case study is based on a triangulation of sources: analysis of (a) strategic documents and (b) press materials, as well as (c) in‐depth interviews with actors of change, such as representatives of NGOs, entrepreneurs, property managers, residents, and municipal officials. The construction of shopping centres was the subject of a major dispute, which was interpreted as a critical juncture, revealing a clash between different planning culture models: (a) modernisation and market‐oriented, focused on attracting large investments; and (b) local and community‐oriented, emphasising the protection of traditional trade and social ties. Regeneration, initially developed as a response to this conflict, served as a laboratory for institutional learning. A salient context is depopulation: Since 2012, the population of Leszno has fallen by more than 8%, a phenomenon that has particularly affected the city centre and limited the effectiveness of regeneration measures. Leszno’s experiences indicate a broader phenomenon observed in post‐socialist cities: a hybrid planning culture, strong dependence on external programmes, and deficits in social trust and participation. The study’s findings suggest that urban transformation in shrinking cities can be a platform for institutional learning. However, its transformative potential remains limited by the lack of long‐term vision and project‐by‐project logic.