By no means does structural change only affect the eastern part of Germany. In many western German towns, entire districts are also finding themselves cut off from development. Integrated development strategies are increasingly becoming the focus of planning for these areas, which are often centrally located. However, such strategies are unfortunately often limited to a purely cosmetic redesign of urban spaces. Yet, can significantly greater potential for sustainable, identity-forming urban development not be found in the analysis of spatiotemporal patterns and dependencies? Can the powers of self-organisation not be located in less frequented neighbourhoods too? Das war nicht Monaco hier explores the example of how in the Arrenberg district of Wuppertal daily life is re-organised each day, despite the lack of municipal funding. Actors from the administration, district development organisations and property sector discuss how everyday processes and socio-spatial situations can be made useful in revitalisation processes. Photographs by Jens Bösenberg focus on striking signs of daily life in a living city from real and unreal perspectives.