For almost half a century the countries of CEE were part of- or were remaining under the influence of- the Soviet Union what caused gaping difference in the starting line towards sustainability. Here the prefabricated concrete blocks of flats were being built at the scale unseen in the western countries. Those buildings, approximately a quarter of the residential market, are in a structurally sound condition to last another five...

Only a few cities can claim that they have changed Europe and indeed the World. Gdańsk is privileged to be one of them. It is not a “caprice of history” that the Solidarity movement which, in the end, got the iron curtain torn, was born in this particular place. It is a logical consequence of ten centuries of the collective wisdom of the people that built Gdańsk and the region of Pomerania. The tragic assassination of the Mayor...

Two authors of this chapter were born to the East of what was once The Iron Curtain and two to the West. From both angles, the two systems – capitalism and communism – seemed to be as contrary to each other as possible. Few people are aware that in terms of industrial and trade policy, both classical capitalism and communism had a common root in the theories of German economist Friedrich List (1789-1846) (List, 1841). In fact,...