Boom-bust cycles have characterized real estate for a long time and a majority of depressions have closely followed cycle peaks. To many, these cycles are like the common cold, something that canít be cured but we eventually get over. But when asset values decline too much or too long (as we have seen worldwide), then exceptional and sometimes disagreeable measures are taken to return to the path of sustainable development - and they are not always successful. While real estate thought has not adequately addressed this problem, as a scientific discipline, it is barely beyond infancy. Even though it may not yet grasp the varied complexity of built assets and their impact, no other discipline has the potential to deliver the interdisciplinary research that could get to the dark heart of this problem leading to a breakthrough. From a perspective on globalism, this talk sketches a path for moving ahead with examples from other disciplines that have made similar breakthroughs.