Under the title Make New History, the Chicago Architecture Biennial 2017 brought together contributions that deal with the past in order to point out new possible futures for the design of buildings, cities, and societies. The film 0199 The Property Drama, that looks beyond the standard practices of real estate and privatization to understand how property is used as a means of control, premiered at the exhibition. Identifying laws and regulations as the foundations of our built environment and coexistence, they carry an imprint of our past. In this light, legislation appears more as a pro-active instrument for design than as an obstacle. By actively engaging legislation, existing codes, and ways of living together are perpetuated: we make new history.