What can be done when families prefer to live on the periphery of villages and the centre is abandoned? The town of Hiddenhausen in East Westphalia had to answer this question. Its response: it stopped investing in construction sites on the outskirts of town. Instead, the municipality is combatting possible vacancies and providing funding: families that buy an old building in the centre of town receive subsidies and a bonus for each child. The model is making the region more attractive for younger people, and today at least one child lives in each subsidized building.