Justice
Hamburg's Neighborhood Redevelopment Battle Has Led Police to Declare a State of Emergency
An explosive struggle has pitted developers against the city's ultra-left.
Hamburg doesn't make for the most obvious urban battleground. Germany's second largest city is also its richest, and the historic port has been widely praised for urban transformations that have set the bar high. In recent months, however, the city has descended into one of the most embittered, fractious redevelopment turf wars in all of Europe.
Things got so bad that last Saturday, Hamburg's chief of police declared the large area of the city where developers, police and residents are clashing a "danger zone."