The notion that urban living is composed of multiple, interacting aspects instead of only depending on the condition of buildings is widely known. However, once urban renewal is considered, talk automatically turns to large-scale rebuilding projects. To date, there has been little knowledge exchange about projects that take place on the local level, tackling the socio-cultural dimension of urban life. While not destroying, but transforming, what already exists into something socially valuable, such projects open up a set of opportunities for the urban community. This paper draws upon German case studies to propose a definition for such projects and to investigate their potential for urban regeneration.