I live in an apartment. Yes, active antennas can be used successfully. The balanced design of this particular antenna is claimed to cancel man-made noise. Because of their small physical size, these antennas can often be located in spots chosen to minimize pick up of locally generated noise. Such interference is often radiated directly from the source and indirectly by power lines, cable TV shields, telephone lines, wire reinforcement in stucco walls, metal structure in apartment buildings, TV antenna lead ins, etc.
Every conductor is a potential re radiator of interference.
The direct signal can add in phase with the indirect signal or the two can add out of phase resulting in cancellation of the interference. If you explore your receiving location with a portable SW radio, you will find places where the cancellation effect can the noise to diminish or disappear. The null spots are usually quite small physically. The null locations will tend to change with frequency because the signals which are canceling each other travel different distances. The physical place where they cancel will, therefore, move.