Shrinking cities have been touted as an opportunity to rethink unsustainable growth-centric policies, but to what extenthave they abdicated from the pro-growth urban agenda? We explore one of the most overtly growth-oriented ‘solutions’to urban shrinkage: housing construction. Our nationwide analysis of Spanish cities illustrates the widespread emergenceof shrinking cities following the Great Recession and the disconnect between population and housing dynamics. Ourfindings highlight the continued demographic decline of Spanish shrinking cities despite considerable spatial growth.This depiction of growing shrinking cities expands conceptualizations of urban shrinkage and advances discussionsregarding the growth imperative in planning cultures.