The article doesn't really explain what they mean by high-rise, except for saying "up to 12 stories" and showing an image of a typical five-over-one as an examp

The article doesn't really explain what they mean by high-rise, except for saying "up to 12 stories" and showing an image of a typical five-over-one as an example of modern housing. If a six story building is a "typical" high-rise, then I'd argue that that's just the modern variation of the three to five story houses that make up a large portion of Germany's housing stock. They are generally nice to live in just based on being dense enough to attract shops, playgrounds, etc., while avoiding the issues of larger buildings.