restructuring, they serve as the basis for the strategies and formats, spaces and projects which Essen is implementing according to contemporary ideas of urban development. The specific topography of the city plays a central role in this process. The areas of the former coal and steel industry in need of conversion are concentrated in the north and west. This results in an asymmetry that runs along the points of the compass as the established residential neighborhoods are located south of the A40 highway, which acts as a boundary dividing the city socially. In the minds of the people, it separates these neighborhoods from the areas in transition in the northwest. The authors, who are all involved in urban development, shed light on the different aspects of transformation and explore the question of how to design a sustainable, livable, future-oriented city of tomorrow that can meet the global demands of the 21st century.