National
Dessau, Germany's city hall tower (to the right) overlooks a city that is tearing down empty apartment buildings and commercial districts and replacing them with parks. the move is an attempt to make the struggling small city more liveable, and is seen as a test case for many similar places in Germany. (Claudia Himmelreich/MCT)
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Dessau, Germany mayor Klemens Koschig notes what the new map of his city looks like, after beginning the "City Islands" program that tears down empty apartment buildings and commercial districts and replacing them with parks. The move is an attempt to make the struggling small city more liveable, and is seen as a test case for many similar places in Germany. (Claudia Himmelreich/MCT)
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Lifelong Weissenborn, Germany resident Heinz Jacob, 72, notes of his idyllic village: "Every year, there are less and less people...This is an empty place." (Claudia Himmelreich/MCT)
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Where a decade ago there was a housing shortage, the medieval city of Dessau, Germany now clears abandoned apartments to make parks. The idea to keep the place from looking too despressing is the result of an aging and shrinking population. (Claudia Himmelreich/MCT)
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