25/02/2010

This week on One Planet, Mike heads to the town of Dessau in east Germany - a place in decline since its days as an industrial powerhouse under communist rule. Though factories and apartment blocks stand abandoned and in disrepair, the world famous Bauhaus design school has a plan to manage the town's decline.

Dessau is not unique, thousands of cities around the world are shrinking. After a tour around the town, Mike sits down with Professor Philipp Oswalt, director of the Bauhaus-Dessau Foundation, to discuss how authorities can rebuild a city that is suffering depopulation.

Also in the show, we hear from the school in northern India where women from across the country and Africa come to learn how to make and repair solar lamps and cookers. Plus we go for a drive in a drainage pipe underneath Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital city.

As ever, tune in, have a listen and then let us know what you think. Email the team at [email protected]. And remember you can always join in the conversation on our Facebook page, the link's below.