ABSTRACT
Halle is a typical example of the post-socialist type of shrinking city. This chapter carries out a detailed statistical analysis related to the economic and demographic developments in several selected large East German cities for the period between 1995 and 2007. With its population size amounting to approximately 233,000 people, Halle is one of the five largest cities in the eastern part of Germany at present. Just like the cases of other East German cities, its urban development plan has recently been mainly oriented on the model of building a compact city with an attractive urban centre, which also provides modern infrastructure and guarantees favourable life and working conditions. The lessons from East German cities generally suggest that those endowed with modern industries have had better growth opportunities, highlighting the close interdependence between modern industries and high-order services for urban growth.
