This East German City Solved Urban Decline
2024 ж. 20 Мам.
112 926 Рет қаралды
Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code TYPEASHTON for an extra 3 months free at surfshark.deals/TYPEASHTON Just 40 years ago, the housing in Leipzig was crumbling. Industrial waste and brownfield sites speckled across the city. And after the fall of the Berlin wall, a mass exodus of residents westward left an already fragile cityscape in peril. But then, everything changed....
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:55 Urban Decline & De-Densification
05:40 Urban Infill and Renewal
10:42 Best VPN
11:58 An Amazing Transformation
Episode No. 146
📷 Follow me on Instagram: / typeashton
🤳🏻 TikTok: / typeashton
🖥 Website: www.blackforestfamily.com
📧 E-mail: typeashton@gmail.com
S𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗘
👑 Patreon: / typeashton
Different perspective from someone living in Leipzig: I'd rather live in a large unrennovated apartment with a cheap rent near the forest than a luxury apartment that is way too small and expensive on the outskirts. Investors are a massive problem and they don't have helping people in mind, they just want to gain as much money as possible whatever the consequences. All the money got sucked out of the local population and the earnings just go to the investors. They just raided the city and bought all the apartments for pennies on the dollar, whole giant factories got sold for a symbolic amount (like 1 German Mark), while the local renters and workers didn't get an offer to buy the apartments and factories themselves. Even worse, some investors just buy empty areas and don't even build houses on them, they just sit on the land for years blocking it from building houses on it and sell it to other investors later. Yeah the city is rich now but the local population doesn't own it, they just have to pay massive amounts of rent to live in their own city. In my opinion ownership of the city should go back to the people and investors who just buy luxury houses for the rich should get stopped.
Same scenario in all ex socialist countries 😠
As they say; “you’ll own nothing… & be happy” 😊 Leave the ownership to a few on the top. You’ve slowly let it happen.
Business as usual. It got drastic even in Leipzig, they transform it from a green characteristic city into a concrete building filled monetary factory.
Leipzig also is overrun with super far left wing people that will cry about anything being not catered to them.
As a Californian that only lived in major urban/surburban sprawl for more than 4 decades, and is now living in northern Europe in a former industrial hub that has been going through a similar redevelopment process and growth... I love it. I used to spend 3 hours of every weekday in a car commuting through dense traffic. Now my commute to the office is a 5 minute walk. I don't have a car anymore, and I do not miss it at all. This is my home now, and I have no intention of returning to the life I left in the States.
Welcome home, friend. What's left for you to do now is anything to help open the eyes of the people you left in the states, so they too may one day enjoy what you have discovered.
Whole heartedly agree. Although I'm not from California, I don't think I could move back to a lifestyle where I was car dependent. Being able to take our kids to school, run errands, and zoom around the town with a bicycle on safe, well designed infrastructure has been so great for our well-being. Although I do miss our extended family back home in the States, when we are back in Illinois and Missouri we are always so disheartened at how bicycles (and walking) are predominantly for recreation and not a viable, reliable form of transport that the city admins and businesses invest in. Our local grocery store back in IL doesn't even have a single bike rack.
I've always been a car/motorcycle enthusiast, but when we found a home we loved that happened to be in an, all be it, small old densely populated town, we soon found that not needing a car for literally everything we needed was the most totally liberating revelation. And just imagine all the time we've gained to do things other than sat in line on a motorway?!
@@TypeAshton Dear Ashton, I couldn't imagine that you would want to give up your usual life, lifestyle and everything else here. Because you've become too German for that. You work here, your child goes to school here without any worries and you live your life here. And we love you for that.
@@burkhardproksch637 Yes, we love the Black Forest Family and Ashton's great videos.
Hey there! Leipzig native here! Born and raised and now living here again after a few years elsewhere! I'm incredibly proud of how Leipzig developed in the last decades. The time after reunification was extremely hard. The old problems of pollution and infrastructure literally falling apart were joined by new ones like deindustrialisation, mass unemployment and a mass exodus of young people. And when things started to change one day I remember how we were very sceptical at first. I remember how one day the local newspaper has a huge headline saying "Wir sind 500.000" as the population had reached that milestone again after years of decline. Now it stands at 630.000 and we are rubbing our eyes of what we all together have accomplished. It think at least in part that also has to do with our mentality. Leipzig has been a trade hub for centuries, the concept of modern trade fairs was invented here. We were always a rather self-confident bunch. I mean we applied for the 2012 Olympics and unfortunately lost out to this minor, rather unimportant english city on that river called Thames. Kinda forgot the name right now. 😅 You see what I mean... 😉 Today Leipzig has pretty much reached the limit of what can be done by (re-)densification. A few new housing areas are still being developed but I estimate that the massive population growth we had will more or less stop at 650.000. Now we face the issues of creating an infrastructure that can actually handle so many people. For example the entire tram network is being redone at the moment to accomodate wider trams, which is a huge, decades long project. The univerity attracts a lot of students every year from all over Germany and slowly but surely city tourism also picks up. Pretty much only national though. For international tourists Leipzig and most of east Germany is still a huge blind spot.
I generally agree with everything you said, except maybe for the tourist aspect. I met many international guests in Leipzig, especially when it was the WGT. But at the same time you are right, because Leipzig still seems to be an insider tip. In my opinion, the people who were born and raised here share a certain pride in their cultural heritage that I cannot fully describe. This is what makes the city and its people unique. Even if they can be a bit grumpy at times. Oh how I love my hometown ❤
Oh man your comment touches SO much on my next video! While in Leipzig, we also traveled to Dresden and Chemnitz. So for the next episode I'll look at tourism and why so many formerly eastern cities still struggle to attract visitors (by comparison to the west).
@@TypeAshton I'd be happy to say all these things on camera some time. Just say the word 😊
@@Watschelinka sure, wgt and maybe the book fair are huge events with guests from all over. I know, cause I work at a hotel 😉 Between these events it looks very different though. I mean just compare the Völki with Neuschwanstein...
@@michaausleipzig Well, if you compare it to Neuschwanstein you're right of course 😄. Have a nice sunday ☀️.
Hello there... I am from a rural area in Germany, and as a german I tend to see only the bad stuff that is going on in this country. So I want to say thank you for talking about the good stuff here, thanks a lot... We need more of that. Positivity can turn things around. So keep up the good work. 👍
As an American soldier that was stationed in Germany twice for a total of six years and married a German I love Germany! Germany has its problems but compared to other countries it’s closer to paradise for me. I go back for trips and as soon as I leave I want to go back and start planning my next trip.
@@jeffjeziorowski8612das sind echt nette Worte. Danke Dir. Bless you.
Bernd, ich sehe es ähnlich. Wir könnten halt noch viel besser sein, noch viel näher am Paradies, aber dank unserer korrupten Kaste wird das verhindert. Das macht mich rasend. Zwischen 99 und 09 hatte ich jedenfalls das Gefühl das es ziemlich gut läuft. Spätestens seit 2015 habe ich genau das gegenteilige Gefühl. Aber am Ende ist „Paradies“ kein Ort, sondern ein Zustand…und da muss man auf sich schauen. Auch von mir Danke für die positive Darstellung im Video. Leipzig gehört neben Potsdam zu meinen Lieblingsstädten in Deutschland .
What would you say the problems in Germany are?
Kommentar gelöscht?! Warum? Diese Zensur ist nur peinlich! Ich schrieb: Wir könnten halt noch viel besser sein, noch viel näher am Paradies, aber das wird von * verhindert. Zwischen 99 und 09 hatte ich jedenfalls das Gefühl das es ziemlich gut läuft. Spätestens seit 2015 habe ich genau das gegenteilige Gefühl. Aber am Ende ist „Paradies“ kein Ort, sondern ein Zustand…und da muss man auf sich schauen. Auch von mir Danke für die positive Darstellung im Video. Leipzig gehört neben Potsdam zu meinen Lieblingsstädten in Deutschland .
Unlike many other cities, Leipzig wasn't founded on a coast or river banks, but at the crossroads of two important mediaeval highways: The Via Imperii and the Via Regia. As such, Leipzig became a hub of trade and a location of trade fairs. It also has one of the oldest universities in Germany and was home to famous musicians, like Bach, Schumann, Mendelssohn, or Wagner.
ah yes the ancient A9 and A14 😅
@@problematicpolarbear6065 Except that the ancient A9 was from Stettin to Rome, and the ancient A14 was from Santiago de Compostella to Moscow.
I have to say, your channel has reinvented itself, like Leipzig. First it was an entertainment channel, informative, but self-centered. Now it is more journalistic and fact-based. I like it, it stands out from the mass of "culture shock" channels
It feels good when someone you know learns how to move through a reaction and to a response. Emotion serves a practical purpose; it builds the wisdom we witness in this video.
Yes, this is fact-"based", in the sense that there is a story told, based on a fact. But the story misses the actual point of reality. Leipzig basically profited from being cheap, and from young people wanting to leave the east german country side. Big companies came here, because they could get special deals with the unions and it was cheaper to produce here than in their main factories. Young people moved there, because housing was cheap, and it was not too far from their parents homes. There was no real "redensification", it was people moving in empty apartments, moving to smaller apartments and properties gaining value, making it financially viable to renovate old houses or filling empty lots.
"...it stands out from the mass of "culture shock" channels..." 👍 which is absolutely right!
@@MaxMustermann-nd4uy What you are describing are mechanisms that are available to many cities experiencing urban decline, though.
If you manage public investment and keep the equity vultures from ruining everything for everyone, you can manage to shape similar situations in other areas
Wow! I live in Reudnitz in a newly built building just around the corner from Lene Voigt (the i is actually silent :) seeing the cherry blossoms you must have been there in the week I was gone on holiday, so I missed you unfortunately! I moved here from Baden Württemberg actually quite some years ago and I love to follow the development of this incredible city. It's really changed tremendously in the last decades! And you didn't even show the biggest change in my eyes: Leipzig used to be surrounded by coal pits, huge scars in the countryside. By now they were all restored to lakes, that call for nice weekend outings all year (biking, inline skating, swimming, canoeing...)
Greetings from close to the park. The cherry blossoms are somewhere else, in the green in front the Grassimuseum... ;)
@@joachimschwabe3301I know, but unfortunately I missed them this year 😢
@@DenzelPF-jl4lj hi! I used to live where you are and now live on one of those lakes. They’re glorious! I was so surprised to find out what the beautiful, clear lake used to be.
Hi Ashton, great video. My son lives in Leipzig, and it's always a treat to visit him for a couple of days and enjoy the city and its many great small restaurants. I, myself lived in Leipzig shortly after die Wende in the roaring nineties. One person one should not forget whe it comes to the beautification of the inner city: Jürgen Schneider. He used to be a Frankfurt mogul specialising in the reconstruction of buildings with money he didn't have. It was mainly the Deutsche Bank he borrowed from to invest in Leipzig. And, he invested in projects that were probably economically not sensible and thereby prevented the demolition balls from rolling. He was convicted for fraud later and served a prison sentence. For me, he is a Leipzig hero not to be forgotten.
It is incredible how Ashton always finds new topics and is able to present even the driest scientific information in an interesting way. This is great science journalism
Ah wow. Thank you so much for the kind compliment.
What does this have to do with science?
@@user-qi1yh4oe4qI think “research” journalism is meant.
One small fact that adds to the aspect of not needing a car in Leipzig, at least in the urban parts: Leipzig was one of the first cities with carsharing already in the 2000s, even a non-profit organization (Teilauto). Now it has grown to a more professional "company", still with far more affordable prices than other commercial competitors, a dense network of both station-based and free floating cars, some also in Dresden, Halle etc. And there are also vans, transporter cars, family vans or tiny cars, depending on what you need it for (visiting friends outside the city, baumarkt haul, IKEA, vacation, day trips...). This makes living without own car much easier, especially with the problematic parking.
My native Manchester, England, has also shown a strong renaissance from an almost critical deindustrialisation and abandoned homes, buildings, mills and factories to a post-2000 boom in building and new more financial, educational and service driven industries. It's not perfect but much better than the grim depressing place of the 1980s.
love manchester
Fellow Manchester resident here so I can attest to that
Hello again! I love your videos. I was stationed in Stuttgart when the wall fell. I went to Desert Storm in 90-91 and when I got back to Stuttgart my German wife and I took a trip through former East Germany. We didn’t go to any big cities. We mostly visited the rural areas. It was depressing. This past October I visited Leipzig and Dresden and I was very impressed. I’ll be back in Germany next year and I want to see the rural areas again to see how things have changed in the past 30+ years. And I was also in your town of Freiburg last October. For some reason I never made it there when I lived in Germany but I was also impressed with that town.
Glad to hear you had such a nice trip back to Germany and got to see such varied cities. It's been a real pleasure of ours to travel around and feel how different each German city can be with its own distinct style and culture. If you get a chance to head up North, we also really enjoyed Ostfriesland, Hamburg and Hannover.
In Korea, there are many neighborhoods where you literally don't need a car (I don't have one.) I live within walking distance of everything I need and if I need to travel, I just walk to the train station.
Hi Ashton. I am from Berlin and have visited Leipzig here and there for a fair or a concert. One time about 15 years ago I also took a sightseeing tour and was amazed how beautiful a lot of parts of Leipzig actually are. Especially the Gründerzeit parts. Must have been at the beginning of the growth you described. I am very happy that it has become so popular and beautiful again.
It is really a very beautiful city with a lot to do and see.
Come on over here and see it again, this City is doomed now, all the "Poverty City" charme is lost its looks like munich ore something similar, without the rich people in the City.
As a Dutch urbanist / transit KZheadr I found Leipzig a very beautiful city when I was there last summer. I did spend a lot of my time in the newky build S-Bahn tunnel and the hbf but the times I weren't I found that the city center was very lively, which of course was good to see. Great video! I didn't know many of this about Leipzig
We moved in Leipzig about 1.5 years ago and now being completely happy with its bicycle culture, great public transportation network, multitude of parks, river and lakes lying around the city (in hot summertime, we know what to do), great airport located in the distance of 3-4 S-bahn stops from the central railway station, the central railway station itself (of course!), vivid spots like Karl-Heine-Straße, Südvorstadt area or Schleussig, international community of welcoming people, and the fact that Leipzig acts as a big city although I can cross it from the Northern to the Southern end within about 1.5-2 hours by bicycle. By far, Leipzig is one love among visited German cities ❤
I visited 50 years ago..wow ..I have to go back see the changes
I was born in Leipzig back in 1984 and grew up here. It truly changed over the years, the shopping malls, the lakes... Thank you for featuring my city
Why do I feel like im back in school, and why do I love it.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching!
I'm from Munich, where owning or building a own place to live is only something for millionaires. So seeing as how Leipzig was starting to rise again some friends and I got together and invested all our savings (and part of our income to this day) to buy and completely rebuild the derelict shell of some old industrial living quarters in Leipzig Plagwitz. It was completely rebuilt from the inside out keeping all the historic parts like the beautiful wooden staircase, and of course the entire outer brickwork structure. Turned into a great appartment building. When we started it was a high risk, as there was nothing around but collapsed infrastructure, overgrown vacant lots and buildings. By now the entire area has been completely transformed by all sorts of similar projects and is now a nice neighborhood in high demand. Leipzig is such a great place with such great people!
I can't even begin to describe how conflicted I am by this story. On the one hand I want to say thank you for your contribution to rebuilding our city. I live in Plagwitz myself and of course it turned out beautifully. This wouldn't have been possible without people like you. Then there's the other side: That lingering feeling that in a way we don't own our city anymore. So much of what was left after reunification was sold off to the highest bidder. Or in some cases even handed out for free. And even if prople from the east were to somehow come up with the money, 40 years of socialist economy made us lack the entrepreneurial mindset of ownership --> investment --> reaping the benefit. And when we realised what was going on, everything was sold. Westerners liked to complain about the Soli and how much money was poured into the East. Has anyone ever measured how much money was flowing the other way simply by us now buying all the western products? Or paying rent every month to some guy in Munich? Don't take it the wrong way, I'm not hating on you in any way. Like I said, I'm gratefull for your contribution. I just wanted to point out that it is also a double edged sword. I mean how many nice refurbished appartment buildings in Munich, Düsseldorf or Stuttgart are owned by people from Leipzig, Dresden or Rostock? There is a clear disparity here, created by how reunification was handled. And I'm afraid it's here to stay. I can't see this changing any time soon...
May I ask how much you invested? I lived in Plagwitz at the time when more and more delapidated buildings were sold and overhauled totally, even mere ruins. At the same time there were very well preserved empty residential buildings without much damages for prices like 12 to 20000 € for sale around 2010. When we went to the auctions there were bidders who bought these buildings for 250000+€, totally overbiding any local initiative of residents who formed to secure affordable housing for themselves in a project like "Wächterhäuser" for example. The problem with Eastern Germany is that there's no money in the population that they could invest. No inheritances or company-shares. The already lower wages compared to the west are eaten up by the rising rent prices. Only those few who accumulated money as entrepeneurs in the 90's and early 2000s could afford that but are outnumbered by the sheer flood of foreign investors. No offense, I think you came with good intensions in mind but there are many players on the market who take investing in Eastern Germany as a money laundering opportunity.
Guten Morgen Ashton, thank you for your kind way to describe germany, all over your videos! How refreshing to watch your sight from an "outsider". We germans often are too negative about ourselfe. So many people are not seeing, that "anpacken und machen" is the reason for our good life in the center of europe. Your video today about Leipzig has even me, normally good informed, astonished about the progress of Leipzig. I know Dresden from some visits and now i'm sure, Leibzig will follow! Your positive sight about germany has to spread in our country! To many people are depressive and have only a negative sight on todays situation. We are living in a Zeitenwende, where everyone has the opertunity and possibility to be a part of a better future! Thank you ❤
I agree with all of your sentiments. There are a lot of great things about Germany, it is a beautiful country with a heap of awesome people. While the world to many seem like it is worse than in the past (not just Germany), that is something that happens with all generations and cultures. I have seen examples in writings from even back in the Roman period, as well as medieval German and early modern period English. The negativity is just amplified by the modern technology and rise of social media.
Bevor du bei uns vorbei schauen darfst nimmst du bitte Zettel und Stift und schreibst zehn mal "Diese Stadt heißt Leipzig"! 😂😂😜 Nur weil mir Sachsn geene hardn Gonsonandn genn, heeßt das nisch dass mer se umdischdn gann!
@@101stub There are examples in writings predating the Roman period (ancient Greece).
@@michaausleipzigUnd genau für diesen Humor liebe ich Euch Sachsen (komme selbst aus dem Rheinland). Wer kann den nur mal einigen Leuten sagen, dass manche Alternativen keine sind, auch wenn sie so heißen. Bitte.
@@101stub Korrektur ist draußen, danke! 😁
Speaking of the "rust belt" and with so many people mentioning the "Solidaritätszuschlag": You might also take a look at the (former) areas of heavy industry in Western Germany, namely the Ruhrgebiet and the Saarland. These areas had been anticipating the end of their coal reserves, and consequently of their heavy industry, at least since the 1970s. So they started their process of structural change ("Strukturwandel"). Now the end of coal mining came sooner than expected, and the process is still ongoing, as it is much slower than what happened in the East after reunification. But the cities have already changed a lot. Huge former industrial area have been transformed into parks, shopping malls, residential areas and much more. This topic might be worth a follow-up to this episode.
what has the "Solidaritätszuschlag" to do with all this?
@@henningbartels6245 Many commenters have argued that a change like in Leipzig was only possible because of the "Soli". That's why I suggested a similar analysis of cities/regions that didn't benefit from the "Soli", nor were directly affected by the reunification.
Absolutely fantastic! Postal delivery was an excellent illustration of de/densification dynamics. Can we Leipzig Washington, D.C. next please? And bring back the streetcar system!
I've been to Leipzig pretty much every year for WGT since 2014 and the change over the years was pretty stark.
I feel like rust belt cities like mine, Pittsburgh, are ripe for re-densification. One of our densest neighborhoods was almost completely demolished and abandoned by the city to make way for a now defunct stadium. It has the bones to become an integral neighborhood again as it sits right next to the downtown business district
I live in Leipzig and the rent increase since I first arrived here in 2014 has been awful. The local rental protection group is overwhelmed with calls of tenants having to fight 'covetous' landlords. I myself had to go to a lawyer this past March to deal with my landlords who attempted to pray on who they thought was an unsuspecting foreigner. For this Cinderella story of Leipzig, there is a dark side and obviously this KZheadr, for all her great content, is not one affected. Gentrification never helps anyone who is minding their own business. I recommend lawyer insurance in Leipzig including rental insurance in case you have to combat the 'close-fisted' landlords who cannot wait to suck their tenants dry.
Could it be, that you never get, that a development like in Leibzig is not for free? If you would have made an investment (it is very costly to build nice houses), you also wouldn't be capable to give it away for 20 year old rent prices! The lawyers are not the solution for this fact!
Thanks for sharing your reality. Sorry to hear and hopefully you got it sorted and are comfortable now.
I wonder if Hildebrand is your landlord. 😂 I feel like like landlords can do whatever they want these days in Leipzig. Taking the rent while never investing anything. If someone moves out, there will be a bunch of people who want to move in (plus, with a new contract the rent again can be increased). Finding a good, affordable apartment in Leipzig, where the landlord actually cares has become nearly impossible. I have lived in several German cities before, but this is the first time, I felt like a law insurance for rental issues was needed.
@@g.r.2985 Sorted for the time being... but I am aware of the situation for the near future.
@@thissucks7577 No, my landlords don't live in the city. Not this Hildebrand (which sounds like something from a Wagner opera). And it is true, decent landlords are rare. When I first moved here, it was just before the rents started their ugly increase. If I move, I will leave the city completely. For the time being, I am biding my time. But I have the law insurance.
Grüße aus Leipzig. You can live here 4 km from the city center, directly surrounded by green all around you for just 700 Euro in a 90 qm flat. Perfect for families like us.
Where can you get those apartments? The stuff I see is way more expensive.
As someone who's been living in Leipzig for almost a decade now, I knew even before I clicked on this video that you'd be talking about Leipzig. I absolutely love this city and can't imagine living anywhere else in Germany to be honest.
The University of Leipzig is my Alma Mater. I lived in Leipzig for about 8 years from 2008 to 2016. My career path had me to move on to the cities Jena, Bremen and now Berlin. Leipzig remains the best city I ever lived in and I often wonder if moving on was actually worth it. I have never been as happy as I was there, despite being at my poorest back then as just another lousy student.
Hey, I also studied in Leipzig , from 2009 to 2017 and then moved to Jena for the first job :) Then I had a station in Heidelberg but there I started to miss Leipzig so much that I had to move back. Now I live here since 2 years and plan to stay forever. I can only reommend it. You will feel like reborn!
Berlin is not Germany. I love Berlin!
Another Leipzig alum here :) Born in Jena, I lived in Leipzig from 2005 to 2011. Not a city girl at all, but this was probably the best city experience you can have even if you're not that much into the urban lifestyle. Enjoyed it a lot, and still return occasionally to visit friends. If I'd ever move back to Germany, I'd probably return there.
Facts, facts, facts. Thank you Ashton.
Hi Peter! Glad you enjoyed the video. 😊
Exactly! Have a nice Sunday @Peter @Ashton + Family
I live in Leipzig since 2009 and moved to Reudnitz last year and love everything about it. Gentrification is a huge problem though, especially when it comes to Clubs closing and cultural offers shrinking. Enjoyed the video, always great to learn more about the places you live in.
I left Leipzig last year after 20 years for some of those reasons. It's rapidly becoming what I call a West German City. Gentrification, rents skyrocketing but incomes still amongst the lowest in Germany, the traffic and transport system creaking under the overload, no go areas (a british youtuber recently got chased and almost beaten up just for filming himself in Connewitz.). I might as well go home, to Chemnitz. It's like Leipzig in 2003, they say,
The compacting of European cities may be a blessing in the case of sprawled places like Berlin. But in already dense cities like Vienna, it is too much. A lot of former urban industrial spaces like cargo railway stations are being converted into extremely dense neighborhoods. But what they forget, is that those dense neighborhoods are often lacking places to live apart from the apartments themselves. If you plant 10 story apartment complexes into a city with a normal building height of 4 stories, you better make sure to include a gratuitous amount of green space.
Was in Leipzig yesterday. Compared to GDR era it became a gorgeous city. ❤
As a Canadian, I envy what's happening in Leipzig. Though I have seen more pedestrian only streets in Montreal recently so... maybe there's hope for us yet.
Love your videos. Highly educational and entertaining. My wife is from Leipzig and my in-laws live in the outskirts from Leipzig at the lake of Zwenkau, previously an opencast mining, now beautifully transformed. I am from Freiburg and we now live in Columbia MO. I learn so much from your videos about my country, my hometown, my wife’s hometown, the US. Thanks for all the work and research you put into your videos 👏🇺🇸🇩🇪👍
I simply love your videos! So well done and so informative, I have nothing to criticise! Excellent work 👍 What I experienced while once staying at a lake near Leipzig, that they’re actually quite brand new and were build out of old brown coal opencast mining holes! And if I remember correctly they have 9 of them! So, as I had the chance to visit Leipzig when it was still behind the wall as part of East Germany and then again a few years back, it’s almost non recognisable! I would say all the money well spent 😁👍💰
I'm a Spaniard who moved here recently and works remotely. Living in Reudnitz-Thonberg now and it _is_ the place to be. Almost all the young people I know live in the area, and it's really pleasant too, plus the War of Nations monument and park is close if one feels like having a walk. Great place to live in
Dear Ashton I have used VPN services for a long time but I never see them play well with public WiFi. You usually get thrown out of the public WiFi as soon as you turn on your VPN and your phone „can’t see“ the local public WiFi anymore.
Hey Ashton! Greetings from this very city, particularly from Reudnitz! Cool to see my neighborhood highlighted here. I've been living here for 10 years, so I could witness part of this transformation in real time (the constant construction CAN be a nuisance at times, but hey, I get it). I also remember how the city looked from visits in the late 90s, early 2000s - I was a child then, so I couldn't grasped how dire the situation was, but looking at the Before and After images in the video (and at old pictures we have, whenever I get around to it) is really jarring. I grew up in a small town in Saxony that used to be a heavy industrial hub which then rapidly declined after reunification, so as a child I was surrounded by abandoned factories and run-down residential buildings. That was normal. I love this city. I've lived in other big cities - Berlin, Cologne, but never for long, and never really felt at home like I do here. I'm proud to hear it talked about so positively - we Germans tend to complain about everything and never stop to appreciate the good that we do have. I admit I'm the same, and it is difficult to see the good sometimes, what with. Everything. So it's nice to be reminded every now and then. :) Hope you enjoyed your time here! You were filming pretty much right in front of my door, and not that long ago judging from the trees blooming before the Grassimuseum. You came here at a good time. (Hope you went and got a coffee at Zack-Zack, the espresso bar at Lene-Voigt-Park. It's my favorite place to get coffee in the city!)
Wonderful Video, Ashton! Although I miss your Black Forest Family Vlogs, I totally understand your wish for privacy, and I really enjoy your new, very well researched and still entertaining videos! I learn a lot! Looking forward to your videos every sunday
Making cities denser certainly has its advantages. But together with the climate change it also creates heat islands where life in summer can be unpleasant. I live in the center of Vienna where 35°C fell close to a furnace and I often wonder how people survive in place where temperatures reach 40+°C without going mad
I'm from Halle the next city over in Saxony Anhalt. Leipzig has become the shopping city in this area. It's a short trip with the S-Bahn (suburban train) of 20-40min-ish. You have a great Fußgängerzone (pedestrian area) with nice shops. I like going there to just checking out the stores or even for a quick trip to buy something.
Ah cool! Thanks for the tips! We didn't make it out that direction while we visited. But Halle kept coming up while researching for this video. It sounds like a lot of the jobs and investment in businesses are shared with Halle since it is on the same airport axis.
@@TypeAshton I studied in Halle while living in Leipzig and went back and forth the whole way with the S-Bahn every day. I can say (ass a person who's heart will truly stay in Leipzig), that Halle as a extremely beautiful inner city and a lot of very old buildings (way more than Leipzig, because Halle's inner city wasn't bombed that much in WW2). It almost seemed to me that Halle is only populated by students, which indeed make up a great amount of inhabitants and shops say that they earn way less money during semester holidays. Next to two beautifull old castles, Halle also has an old salt factory, after what the city is kind of named, and also new built scyscraper area in the west called "Neustadt", which is extremely green, but looks kind of sleazy on the other hand (especially the four 12-story buildings alon the main road, which seem to be once planned as a whole city within one building).
You are missing quite a few points there. Yes, re-urbanization was a big trend in the past two centuries, which is a combination of cultural and demographic changes, people having children later and changing habits, more singles, more older people, smaller families more people not having children. Recently, however, this trend has started to reverse, as big cities have started to become too expensive and people prefer the quieter life. Though the trend is actually towards smaller cities nearby, not towards suburbia around big cieties. Leipzig was special, in that it had cheap housing due to the decline. That attracted students and various types of left extremist people. The big companies also came because of lower incomes, in some sense like the car factories in the southern US. A seond point is actually the decline of eastern Germany. With more affordable big cities and significant decline in the country side, there is a huge exodus of young people from the eastern german country side towards local big cities. Move a bit out from Leipzig, and you will see villages with essentially no children. And there was no real densification in Leipzig. It was empty homes filling up again, and people moving to smaller appartments. Families staying in 3-room apartments (that is not 3 bedrooms) rather than moving to big apartments, single professionals living in studios rather than 2-3 rooms, students sharing bigger apartments rather than having a studio. The demographic development of Leipzig is interesting, but it is definitely not a blueprint.
Really fascinating report, Ashton. Love seeing reports like this. Living in a smaller city in eastern Washington State, I see nothing similar. My town continues to expand with more and more subdivisions and strip mall type developments. In fact, a few years ago there was an attempt to make a downtown "park" that would encourage growth of business. it was voted down dramatically. On a side note, we are a week away from leaving for Europe, which will include a visit to Freiburg. Looking forward to experiencing your town.
Nice to see a video about East Germany. For anyone that interested in East Germany I’d recommend the small but good channel East Germany Investigated.
My brother lived in East Germany after the wall came down and heard so many stories. I went shopping in East Berlin before the wall came down. It was very interesting.
I live in a suburb of Munich. The city has been growing unstoppably for as long as i can think. And the densification has reached the suburban sprawl a while ago. This "Nachverdichtung" works like this: When a vacant house is sold, it often gets bought by an investor who tears it down, splits the plot of land into 2 or sometimes more parts and builds new houses on each of these new smaller plots, as densely as possible within the local regulations. And although these new houses are barely affordable, people still queue up to buy them.
It is a bit of a pity that so few watch your videos!
I am from Leipzig. (Though I do not live there any more.) One of the reasons the population rose in the mid-2010s was that many West-Germany universities tripled their tuition* and housing an living costs were so low in Leipzig - students flocked there because it was affordable. And many of them stayed forever. *Studiengebühren, which are not a thing anymore.
Another great video Ashton, thank you for the work you put in this!
Here in Kansas City I'm seeing the densification of population. Personally I do not want to be living so close to so many people but I get it.
here in Karlsruhe a whole new district was built(with 4-6 story houses) on the area of the former goods station - some space was also kept free was a mid sized park - seems like a good solution of the space to me.
The same is being done in Leipzig right now. Old rail yeards are being transformed into housing and all related infrasteucture (schools for example). There's a smaller area near the old Bayrischer Bahnhof (which is today only served by S-Bahn trains in a tunnel) and a much larger area north west of the main station. Really excited about how they're gonna turn out. 😊
Hi Aston. I love watching your videos and reminiscing about living in Germany. It is great to see all the positive changes in Leipzig. My family and I visited there in the early 90’s. We could see great potential there, but massive change was clearly needed. I’m glad to see this forward looking and hardworking community made it happen. I look forward to visiting again.
Great video! Thanks a lot Ashton.
Ashton out here with the tax and travel tricks :D - Travel to beautiful city - Make video about beautiful city - Write off travel expenses related to video production
I am very proud of you making such a great video about my home town ❤
The term "socially weak" is often criticized as inappropriate because it suggests that people in financially difficult circumstances or with low incomes are also weak in other social aspects. This is not only wrong, but also derogatory.
Sublime report Ashton! I dwelled on it for a while after it ended thinking that some cities live to repeat the cycle of deprivation (you mentioned Naples, half an hour from where I live; that would be a case in point) whereas others strive to progress towards an healthier, greener more inclusive and better served community life. I reckon it's just a matter of doing the hard work of looking within oneself so to spot and isolate that which is not working; True for communities as well as individuals! I shall keep supporting your channel as well as wishing you and your family a pleasant stay in Eastern Germany! 👋😄 🇮🇹
This is actually surprising as to the renewal cycle only starting after 2012 in many cities. That is _way_ later than it was in most of the United States. In NYC and other places, this began in earnest in the mid to late 1990s or early 2000s. That timeframe is typical. The process has been slower in the US than in Europe, and the starting point of the US is different. However, it is very much true. Multifamily housing construction recently hit 40-50 year highs in the United States. Meanwhile, suburban areas are starting to fracture, not necessarily just in inner areas either, but in areas that are deemed less desirable for whatever reason (too far away, wearing out infrastructure, etc.) and this has caused the beginning of something which will probably be called suburban decline.
The Humboldt University is named after a person, Alexander von Humboldt, not after a place ( city, region). Thus it is equivalent to the Johns-Hopkins university the "Humboldt University", rather than the "university of Humboldt".
It's named after both brothers, Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt. His brother is not so famous, but as a polymath and scientist of his time and as the minister of education, he even founded the university in 1809.
I started watching your videos some while ago and now I see you making a video about my home town. What a coincidence!
Wonderful Work Ashton (as usual 😂). These before Pictures Bring back memories in my first Trips through East Germany 3 to 4 years after reunification. The vast majority of settlements looked similar. And the infrastructure (water, electricity, telefon, streets etc.) was not better. The amount of work that was needed and had been done was extraordinary. A lot of money was invested, projects in the wast hab to be stopped (f.e. restructuring of the Ruhrgebiet after decline of coal and Steel industry, maintenance of Bridges). But If you see the results today it was worth every Cent and effort.
Still, it would be nice to have new roads, bridges and remodelled facilities in Ruhrpott as well, esp that more and more people live here and its cities' status is declining. I drive to my homeland Poland at least once a year and I see how the former east Germany has changed. But the division to Ossies and Wessies is still there and due to economical crisis of Ruhrpott, it is even more visible these days. Perhaps it is time to re-pay. The beautiful NRW is to some extent neglected by the government in Berlin.
I've visited Leipzig multiple times since moving to Berlin! Always a lovely time and now I know a little bit more about its history. It's really amazing the changes it went through and how deliberate its revival was. The state invested so much in places like Leipzig and it really paid off. It makes the American version of offering tax breaks to stadiums and big manufacturing companies look silly because those entities won't care about the public space as much. America is highly resistant to re-densification because so many people think it will end up like overcrowded cities in poor countries. But it's a really rich country so it would end up more like Leipzig if it bothered to try. On gentrification, I am always split on this. Yes, it is a shame that prices increase relative to existing resident's expenses. But the alternative is to let the area continue to decay and for people to continue living in abject poverty. I don't think that is a good option either. There is surely a middle ground that the state must figure out how to balance.
I was living in Leipzig for 5 Years until 2016. Best time of my life and everytime I go back there it feels like I am coming back home. I am very happy that you chose to cover this beautiful city in one of your videos.
I really enjoyed my visit. Such a cool city and amazing to see the "before" pictures and then compare it to my walking experience.
What did you like about it ?
Hi Ashton. I love the way you have transformed your channel to be able to deliver this kind of content. Good effort lass.x
Thank you so much!
Hello there! Nice and informative video, as usual. A technical note: watching on my 65" LG TV, I realized strange image compression artifacts. I thought I have a low video quality turned on, so I went to the settings, only to realize I have the usual 1080 on. But there was a choice to switch into 2160 (full 4K), and then the artifacts disappeared and the image was crystal clear.
Former Leipzig resident here. Great city to live. It was always nice to return 'home' after visiting friends & relatives in Hamburg or Berlin.
Gday Ashton, wow that was a very impressive transformation . Great video x
Thanks so much! 😊
I grew up in Munich, when i was born Munich had around 1.3 mio inhabitants, when i moved to Ulm to study it was down to about 1.2 mio but around 2010 it exploded and now has over 1.5 mio. 30 years of steadyness betwenn 1.2 and 1.3 mio and then boom 20% more people
where did they come from?
@@ikaros4203 mostly other parts of Germany
@@BioshynYes and also from Arabia and Africa.
What a great reportage! Very dynamic, informative, based on facts and honestly - very professional. Keep on!
I guess there are some other reasons, why especially Leipzig is such an attractor for people to move back. It's not only the plans for revedevelopment of the Eastern part of the city. It's also the very worth living Western part. Leipzig is one of the few cities in Germany with a green belt going right through it. Most parts are even forest. So local recreation was already there for everyone living in the West and the middle of Leipzig. The East is a little different. There are less parks. Also Leipzig was an opencast coal mining center before the reunification and had a tremendous air pollution problem back then. The end of this industry came with reunification. The city became liveable again. This is mainly due to the fact that the former open-cast mines around Leipzig have been renaturalised and are used as bathing lakes in the summer. Also the rents for appartmens were very low (which is not the case anymore). So there were already a lot of reasons for people to live here. But there are some other geographical reasons to be considered. Leipzig an important central transport hub in Germany. Especially for cargo. The railway system in Germany has more North-South-connections and less West-East. But Leipzig is one of the few that connects North South West and East. Almost the same applies to highways (Autobahn). Even though there are more connections from West to East across Germany. That's one of the main reasons why DHL established the cargo airport here. So basicly one can say, Leipzig was lucky to be a central cargo hub with an already present infrastructure, that attracted investors, to even expand it and was and is very liveable for people to move back. Also the big brain drain to the West after the reunification is diclining. So more people who moved West in the 90ies, now come back. Also Germany has a lot of laws, that Americans would consider communistic. As far as I know, there is no tenant protection in the USA - please correct me if I am wrong. Here in Germany there is protection against dismissal of 3 months in the first year, 6 months after 5 years and 9 months after 8 years. This does not rule out gentrification. But it makes it harder for property sharks and safer for tenants.
1. I was in Leipzig at the beginning of the century, I think. I didn't notice the poverty, but maybe that's because as a tourist I was just making a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Bach. 2. Not in Germany, but I moved a few years ago from the center to the outskirts of the city. The reason was prices -- a house on the outskirts was 1/4 cheaper than a (twice smaller) apartment in the center. Germany has a housing policy that may reduce the problem of housing affordability in cities.
Hello Ashton, it's always interesting to discover new aspects of living in Germany with your videos. Thank you very much for that one.
There are so many cities in the US, especially places like St. Louis and Detroit where whole neighborhoods of housing were bulldozed in the name of urban renewal and were just never rebuilt resulting in once dense neighborhoods now being a few isolated row homes in between vast grass lawns. These areas could provide so much new housing without creating sprawl while encouraging investments in the city. Of course they would need to take the same measures to avoid gentrification but it’s the US so.
Oh look, yet more evidence that government investment and not austerity, creates renewal and growth.
Thanks Ashton 👍🏻 Love the content But especially the positive vibes. Keep it up please 😊
Great video! I was born and live in Dresden, but most of my family live in Leipzig and I'm excited to visit the city again next weekend. I'm really looking forward to your take on Dresden and even Chemnitz (although I hated living in Chemnitz for a month during an internship). All three Saxon cities have very different atmospheres and I'm interested in seeing what you make of them.
Great report, Ashton! I went to uni in Leipzig, and when I moved there in 2005, I started out with a small room for 110 euros a month! Can you imagine? Life in Leipzig during the first decade of the new millenium was good, especially as a student. Crimes rates were low, everything was still pretty cheap (I remember getting Döner for 1 euro back then!) and there were so many things to do, from cultural attractions to recreational activities. It may still have been a bit shabby back then, but we actually enjoyed the vibe. I gather that a lot has changed since then, but most things seem to have changed to the better even. Thanks for shedding some light on recent developments, which helps a lot to understand what has been going on for the last fifteen years. Hope you enjoyed your journey through the East German cities! It's definitely a region of Germany that should be covered more often.
Knew several people who grew up in or went to college in Leipzig. While the economy forced them to leave, they all retained a deep love for the city and many moved back when they got the chance. Leipzig always had an energy that places like Chemnitz or Dresden didn't. Glad to see it doing well.
A massive project like this requires 3 key elements: Funding, (organized) planning and the drive to get it done. Many cities have tried or are trying this with mixed results. All this seems to have come together in Leipzig with remarkable results. I think many cities, inside and outside Germany, should study this to see how to successfully remake their urban areas. I know where I live currently (Spain) could use this as a template for urban renewal instead of the mishmash of disorganized, underfunded plans that they seems to have gone with. A great video and it has moved Leipzig up higher on the list of places I want to visit soon.
Unfortunately I don't use telegram.
Your videos are absolutely wonderful! I lived in East and West BEFORE the reunification and now live in the US.
Very well researched video. I am saying this as someone born in Leipzig (in the 80s), who left the city in 2001 and returned in 2016.
I have learnt more from the comments about the economics behind this process than from your video. In a video of this length I guess there will always have to be editorial choices. Overall an entertaining, informative piece of journalism
I’ve been living in Leipzig for 14 years and I actually live just around the corner form the Karl-Heine canal area you show in your footage. :) It‘s nice to see reports like yours now, because for a long time Leipzig indeed was seen as the capital of poverty especially by West Germans. I came shortly before the boom, and I remember only a few years before Leipzig was subject of the „Shrinking Cities“ exhibition (which also featured Detroit and Manchester). Since I‘ve only lived in shrinking cities before, it felt exciting to be in a growing city for a change starting in the early/mid-2010s. You‘ve mentioned the pollution and I think that‘s really the biggest game changer of all. If you talk to older people who grew up here in GDR times, they will often tell you how in the 1980s there was always a permanent grey cloud above the city. I think the redevelopment of the main station was also a big boost, since it became almost like a template for many other train stations in Germany. Throughout the last ten years or so, Leipzig became a growing city with an infrastructure of a declining city. You could see it in public transport with tram lines being scrapped, and a lack of schools and public services (all closed down in the 1990s). Thankfully, the city has acted up on that and more schools and kindergartens are now being built. But we‘re still often joking among friends that you better sign up for a kindergarten place for your kid as soon as a positive pregnancy test arrives. Public transport got a big boost with the city tunnel and the modernisation of the S-Bahn lines (long overdue!), but what the city still lacks is a proper tram „circle line“ like the underground in Berlin or London. I use a bike, since it‘s the fastest mode of transport in the city, but if you‘re really dependent on public transport, some more tram lines are needed. Housing is also still a big issue, and I agree with you that the green spaces in the city have to be preserved as well. The problem could be solved by building higher houses again. Problem is, in Germany there is a bias against any building higher than 4 storeys, because people automatically think of those old East German-style high-rise satellite cities. But we don‘t need to go that far, just put 6 or 7 storeys in instead of only 3 or 4. Speaking of a reversal of urban decline, maybe the biggest difference between Europe and the USA is the population movement to other regions, so the urban revival in the USA can probably better spotted in rising cities like Albuquerque, Tucson or Columbus. Anyway, keep the content coming!
I just love these videos. These are really educating and interesting information. I also like the idea how much time is spent on research and background work for the facts. Not only opinions. Thank you Type Ashton.
Glad you like them! Thanks!
One point on the funding of the housing construction, the 1,5 billion EUR you mentioned in the case of Leipzig. A decent part of that came from small individual west german investors (think entrepreneurs, dentists, etc.), who speculated big time on real estate in the former GDR (partly for saving taxes, as there were tax breaks for renovating existing buildings). For the longest time these investors lost tons of money as the value of these properties was nowhere near their original purchase price. Working in a bank in the former west around 2005-2010, we always prayed for every customer not having to refinance those "Ostimmobilien" - because as soon as you touched these mortgages, the collateral needed to be revalued and likely went up in smoke (at least a big part of it).
I worked in a Bank in the East and got a glimpse of those investors too. The Fördergebietsgesetz created massive fear of missing out especially when it wound down. The quality of renovations was horrid. Some investors told me flatout there didn't care about ever collecting rent because at 50% tax writeoff would save them so much money that they didn't care. Some grotesquely overdid it too, buying a whole castle and then realizing the followup costs to the big tax break bonanza. The large majority of all privately owned flats in Leipzig is still in the hands of those investors, coming to a late bloom. They are called "Zahnwälte" here.
Living in this city for 10 years now and I really love it here for the most part. There are so many parks and building of new parks, as well a lot of cultural activities, events and jobs. However, the whole real estate investor thing is really not going as great for the general population as you described. It's true that a lot of big real estate firms buy vacant homes, but then renovate and rent it out for triple the original rent. The whole idea of conservation does only apply to a teeny bit of the city. A lot of firms also buy homes from existing landlords, using legal loopholes, and just kick the tenants out, redo a few things and again, rent it out for much much more. My friends moving to the city now are paying as much for a small room in a shared flat further out of the city than I did 10 years ago with my two room flat near the city center. salaries did not increase either, so if i ever were to kicked out through a legal loophole, as quite a few of my friends came to experience in the past years, i would have to leave the city altogether because even with a job, I would not be able to rent even a room. I worry a lot about the cost of living here.
Surprised to see Leipzig. Nice video, thanks for the update on Reudnitz, haven't herard about the project in a while. It really takes decades, I'm really curious how the area behind the main station and further around Chausseehouse will look in 10 years. Three things that also really added to Leipzig's attraction and balance gentrification a tiny bit: 1. The traditional Schrebergärten, which keep the city green. 2. The development of 5 lakes around the city that really has done a lot for the well-being of people, especially those who cannot afford to travel. 3. The great planning of Grünau, which could have devolved into prospects but thanks to far-sighted planning has become attractive lower-income hounsing.
5:15 not only larger cities, but also the historic town centers in tiny to medium sized towns (like from a few hundred to 50.000), have been and sometimes still are dying out. New houses were cheap and when long term residents in the centre died or grew to old nobody would want to have the hustle to renovate those old crooked houses. Only where local government puts a lot of effort into those districts they can reflourish.
Australia has the urban dream of "a 3-4 bedroom house on a quarter-acre block" (even though we are now converted to Metric.) The issue is that that block now allows a "granny flat" (aka 1-2BR unit) as well. So, those additions are happening all over the nation, where the building regulations allow. OR, high-rise or low-rise (2-3 storey) across several of those blocks. Suburbia is changing.
I'm from the west of Germany, near (but not in) the Ruhr area. I've been to Leipzig two times and it's a lovely city. It's just nice. I go to Dortmund for school on a weekly basis and the contrast between it and Leipzig is like night and day. When I arrive at the train station in Dortmund, it often smells like feces, there's bird poop everywhere and poverty is omnipresent as you go past the people sleeping in front of the train station. The air quality is poor and I'm glad every time I can leave for the day. When you arrive at the train station in Leipzig, a busy, welcoming shopping mall awaits you right in the station. Once you step outside, it's just a nice area. There's a relatively large amount of green and the air is nowhere near as bad as it is in Dortmund. The streets are clean. The city itself is a space you actually want to spend time in. When I went to Frankfurt with my brother, he told me not to judge a city by its train station district, but I disagree. By a city's train station district, you can tell how it treats the poor and how much priority they give to Aufenthaltsqualität (the quality of your stay there). Although train stations are controlled by DB and not the city, judging a city by its train station (district) is something that has rang true for me in the cities I have gotten to know. All that aside, what makes Leipzig my favourite city is how nice it is to spend time there. In other cities, you endure being in the city to get to the sights you actually want to see. In Leipzig, being in the city in and of itself is a pleasant experience; you don't need to go somewhere else (a museum, a restaurant etc) to have a nice time.
In the US we also saw come level of revitalization in cities. So Brooklyn for example but also Cleveland, Pittsburgh and a host of sunbelt cities. But the US has less public transit - and even when such structures exist, people use them much less. Still this seems to be a general trend that is across the west.
Tolles Video, Ashton! Weiter so!
American here - love this! Wish we had less suburban sprawl here and that fewer people saw that as the ideal. I miss my walkable village in England and the European cities that are so easy to visit without a car!
My experience and hot take (waiting for the internet trolls to rush in later): I've been to Leipzig for a few days, in 2000. It looked pretty shabby, completely under-developed. But when I saw the title of your video, my first guess of which east German city you would be talking about, was indeed Leipzig! Why? Because 24 years ago, I saw a lot of young and "alternative" people, students etc. all over the place. Do you know, what I didn't see there (which was kind a surprising, considering I was deep inside East Germany)? Nazis. Leipzig felt Nazi-free. The same "alternative"/"student" energy was present in Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg in the 90s and Friedrichshain in the 2000s (which was the decade I lived there). Make what you want out of the concept of gentrification (good, bad, whatever), but if I see that kind of young people in the neighborhood, I expect a boom in the future. If you see Nazis, not so much.
you missed (like almost everyone) the most important aspects: Leipzig had thanks to the past still a huge part of 'Gruenderzeit' like districts (similar to the districts you named from Berlin: Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain etc.). YOU CANNOT gentrify Plattenbau/Commie block like buildings and/or the wrong 'modern' variations of that (those pseudo green standing alone buildings instead of a true urban structure with BLOCK AT BLOCK)! THIS THIS THIS THIS is the MOST important aspect! One need such structures mixed with true modern things (can be skyscrapers or interesting modern buildings of all kind). One need REAL urban/metropolic structures which shops/offices/cafes in the ground level - only such structures are able to be gentrificatble! ONLY SUCH STRUCTURES! ONLY SUCH STRUCTURES! ONLY SUCH STRUCTURES! ITS THOSE STRUCTURES! without such urban/metropolitan structures, no gentrification. And also NO Tourism and so on: the most attractive cities on the planet have such structures and/or very modern ones - but NO CITY ON THE ENTIRE PLANET is successful if only Plattenbau like (or the 'modern variation of that mistake'). All your 'alternative' scenes/students did NOT move there if there wasnt such structures which can be made relivable ... you have to understand THIS! most dont get that. and if they dont get it they can do everything, it will NOT WORK. irrelevant if you ad parks or bike lanes or whatever. Green for itself is NO urban structure, no solution - it works only as addition ...
We once, shortly after the wall opened, lived near Leipzig in the City of Döbeln-Gärtitz. Long ago...
Thank you for this wonderful video. I grew up in Leipzig' West newer 5floor houses in Gruenau near to Heinrich Heine Channel in 1977-1998 and saw a lot of the decline described, and also I saw some of the rehabilitation. We moved to Reudnitz near the parc Eilenburger Bahnhof you reported from in 1999, because to live near to University to study chemistry. And now I live in Dusseldorf and if we meet my parents I try to show all this nice spaces to my 13 year old son. I hope you all will have nice experiences to share from your hometown with your kids and with us. Good luck and stay healthy.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks!!
I live in Halle, the city sidekick to leipzig. The Ballungsraum Leipzig-Halle is pretty awesome! Having 2 big citys interconected by S bahn within 20minutes is an opportunity in itself. Many university students live in Halle due to loser cost of living and study in leipzig due to the bigger university, altho MLU halle is very good aswell.
Guten morgen Ashton!
Morgen! ☀️
Sounds like living near Youngstown, OH but with a happy ending. Big industry, actually several big companies, returned to Leipzig but in Youngstown the several big industries left but none returned. The result was 20% unemployment throughout much of NW Pennsylvania and NE Ohio. This is a depression by USA standards. Large corporations have avoided locating to Youngstown to this very day. Without jobs some people resorted to burning their houses down in hopes of getting insurance money. I used to look out my high rise dorm window at a University in Youngstown and could see at least one house burn down for every day of the week for a year and half. People moved out the region in droves, about 1/3 of Yoingstown's population left for other parts of the USA where especially the skilled labor and management found work. The USA government provided the city with about a billion dollars of urban renewal grant money in the early 1990's but the money totally disappeared without any urban renewal taking place. It was apparently embezzled by a small group of people that used it for personal purposes, but these people were never found or brought to trial. So today most of the much smaller city sits as it did after I left the area in the early 1990's, never to return but I did visit a few friends until the mid 1990's. From what I have heard many of the personal houses did get bull dozed and leveled and are now vacant lots. Crime is rampant and it got too unsafe for visiting including my grandparent's neighborhood in a city about 10 miles away from Youngstown in Pennsylvania. I keep the memories of what it was but I don't want to see what it has become nor what the surrounding region has become.
I’m in Long Beach, CA. We have a lot of oil drilling and I would love to see those sites closed and rehabilitated into park space.