Photo Gallery Hamburg's Polemic Makeover
Hamburg is investing billions in ambitious urban planning. Here, a computer graphic shows the planned Elbe Philharmonic concert hall. Designed by the architects Herzog & de Meuron, the futuristic iceberg-style building is under construction -- and is way over budget.
This 2008 picture shows the crane-rich skyline of Hamburg during the construction of the HafenCity (Habor City) development. It is one of Europe's biggest building sites.
The new waterside district, built in former parts of the harbor, is designed to house some 12,000 people.
The HafenCity development should be complete by 2020, meaning the city of Hamburg will have a new district which has been built from scratch.
But the fast pace of gentrification is not to everyone's liking. There were clashes between police and leftist protesters in September 2009. Demonstrators hurled bottles and stones at the security forces, who retaliated with water cannon.
These houses in Hamburg's Hafenstrasse became a symbol of the squatting scene across Germany. First squatted in 1981, the controversial houses were the site of frequent clashes with the police. Today the 12 brightly painted buildings are owned by a cooperative.
Activists are also squatting a former department store in Hamburg's Altona district. They want to prevent an Ikea store being built on the site.
