From department stores to barracks and churches, urban buildings regularly fall out of use as a result of societal changes. However, the driving forces behind these urban obsolescences have thus far not been systematically investigated. As a result of the global trends of digitalization, the mobility transformation, and changes in religious behavior, there is currently significant pressure to identify new uses for a wide range of different building types. These buildings represent a key resource for the circular development of growing metropolises, for affordable housing and uses that serve the common good, for more resilient neighborhood design that is better adapted to climate change, and for the increasing number of new functions now being carried out in our cities. Last but not least, this existing building stock is also a resource for the new infrastructures necessitated by the mobility transformation and the shift to renewable energy.

We live on the ground and with the ground. It feeds us and it cools the earth's atmosphere. We need it for housing, we use it for leisure and for work: without free access to land our economic model would not work. But this has changed significantly since the global financial market crisis. Since conservative investments lost their economical appeal, our land has become an international asset in high demand. Rising rents are one of the main symptoms. But essentially, this affects far more: Our social market economy, our community, and a successful approach to climate change are at stake. The main part of the book is a manual covering 36 different aspects of the land issue, featuring clear graphics and categorized into the three sub-areas of climate, economy, and the common good. Five essays and one interview by well-known authors provide references and possible solutions for one of the most pressing questions of our time.