Between hot spot and focus, gentrification and ghettoization, between district festival and neighborhood branding: How do urban districts work on their image to manage the transition from workers’ district to creative hub? How do they exploit the public space? And how far do they need a critical confrontation with the creative industries in interaction with the real estate branch? Based on the study “Beyond Gentrification,” which also sheds light on 2017’s Focus District of the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, this talk addressed the development of the 15th district, which is, according to the study, deemed to be the least educated and the one with the lowest incomes, but also the youngest and ethnically most diverse urban district in the city. After an opening speech by Yvonne Franz (Institute of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna), Thomas Blimlinger (Former head of Vienna’s 7th district), Yvonne Franz (Institute of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna), Erwin Bauer (University of Applied Arts Vienna, buero bauer) and Albert Wimmer (Architect) engaged in a discussion moderated by Kurt Tanner (Werkstadt15).