Hanging hyphens are useful for:
- comparing or contrasting 2 things
macro- and microeconomic policy
- reducing the repetition of long words
pro- and anti-establishment groups
- making numeric lists more readable
5-, 10- and 15-year droughts 19th- and 20th-century artists fourth- and fifth-level teachers
But you do not have to use a hanging hyphen in any of these situations. It will often be clearer if you simply spell both words out in full. This is particularly important if your audience has lower reading abilities:
low-rise and high-rise buildings instead of low- and high-rise buildings
