Article 14 of the German Constitution reads: “Property is a responsibility. Its use should serve the welfare of the public.” Should corporate social responsibility underpin urban housing policies and infrastructure development? Berlin’s government has provided incentives for social responsibility, by means of policy instruments such as the ‘concept development procedure’ (Konzeptverfahren) in real estate and property allocations. Are these correction tools one-offs and anomalies – or do they represent a future model? Case studies from the realms of architecture, urban policy and new cooperative housing models foreground the social imperative.