Cultural scientist; art historian; coordinator Bauhaus Kolleg at the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation; curator, Dessau (Germany) What mechanisms are restructuring cities of Middle and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain? How and why are these cities falling short of the promise of better living conditions, growth and welfare? How are they dealing with issues of fragmentation and integration, growth and stagnation and diminished socio-economic and political status? What are the potential solutions for these shrinking cities marred by urban wastelands and collective despair?