This chapter explores land reform and redistributive justice from the vantage point of the Karoo, a large, sparsely populated and marginalised area that constitutes some 40 per cent of South Africa’s commercial farmland, where major land-use changes are recalibrating the significance of this land both locally and nationally. Underpinning the discussion is a concern with the narrow framing of contemporary land debates in terms of land as redistributive justice, rather than one plank in a larger framework for social justice. The argument is not that the Karoo is typical of the country as a whole, or that the time for land reform is past. Rather, thinking through social–ecological changes here pushes one to scale down expectations of land reform while foregrounding other issues of concern. Five cross-cutting themes are highlighted: the scale of the Karoo; its challenging environment; current land-use changes; the small-town character of the region; and its multi-layered history. The chapter draws on recent research on land-use change and sustainable development in the region, concluding with a case study of land restitution and renewable energy in the small town of Loeriesfontein.