2.5.2
140
Long-term progress
[21]
A new phase of economic growth began in the 1980s. Munich evolved into a high-tech metropolis within the framework of the Bavaria’s ambitious modernisation and investment policy. At the same time, the chronic shortage of sites for new construction began to change into a surplus. Modernisation in many industries had left much commercial space vacant. The Deutsche Bundesbahn [German federal railroad] shifted extensive central rail facilities away from the city’s core and toward its outskirts. Additional space was also freed when military bases became unnecessary and could be closed in the wake of the collapse of the socialist power bloc. A wave of large projects began with the goal of putting the vacated sites to good use. The strength of this movement prompted some commentators to describe it as a “new Gründerzeit.
