In the heart of Jena's old town for decades sized about 12,250 m² the so-called Eichplatz area has waited to be given a new spatio-functional lease of life and design. Possibly, its special location at the foot of the 144 m-high JenTowers, is why it attracts the locals' great attention. The key question was essentially not how, how much or for whom things should be built. Rather, the emphasis was on making certain the citizens were included in the development and design of the zone. In a three-stage inclusion process involving concentrated active workshops and public presentations, together with the inhabitants a framework urban planning concept was developed and coordinated. All the constructed elements in the new quarter take the shape of small-sectioned standalones, i.e., have no semi-public or private rooms on the ground floor. The public space meanders between the built elements in a constant interplay of narrow confines and expanse. The upshot: a system of courtyards and alleys that invite you to visit the quarter and are intended to offer various opportunities to tarry a while here. The citizens insisted at the time that alongside the network of inner pathways, the connecting points to the surrounding urban space were aligned as closely as possible to the existing scale of the urban fabric. Narrowness is a mood-defining characteristic of old town Jena. The framework concept can be realized with or without high-rises.