The Marvel of Leinefelde: A Town Reinvents Itself

Whoever wrestles with the intractable difficulties of empty housing in East Germany can look at Leinefelde and rest easier. Here, demolition was never the last word. The message that comes out of this place is anything but discouraging: and it is nothing to do with growth! Positive town development is no longer tied to more settlement areas, or increasing populations and expanding commerce. It has often been claimed that "there are real chances with the process of becoming less" - finally there is proof that these are more than just words of comfort. Leinefelde has reduced and reconfigured its Sudstadt as if in a big laboratory experiment, and in doing so, has demonstrated that the consequences of inevitable shrinkage can be contained by determined action and offset wherever possible with other qualities. The aim of this book is to describe this experiment, to consider the conditions behind its success and to ask whether what has been done here could be generalized and applied elsewhere.