  Our adaptive optics observations of nearby AGN at spatial resolutions as
small as 0.085arcsec show strong evidence for recent, but no longer active,
nuclear star formation. We begin by describing observations that highlight two
contrasting methods by which gas can flow into the central tens of parsecs. Gas
accumulation in this region will inevitably lead to a starburst, and we discuss
the evidence for such events. We then turn to the impact of stellar evolution
on the further inflow of gas by combining a phenomenological approach with
analytical modelling and hydrodynamic simulations. These complementary
perspectives paint a picture in which all the processes are ultimately
regulated by the mass accretion rate into the central hundred parsecs, and the
ensuing starburst that occurs there. The resulting supernovae delay accretion
by generating a starburst wind, which leaves behind a clumpy interstellar
medium. This provides an ideal environment for slower stellar outflows to
accrete inwards and form a dense turbulent disk on scales of a few parsecs.
Such a scenario may resolve the discrepancy between the larger scale structure
seen with adaptive optics and the small scale structure seen with VLTI.
