In the light of such lessons, redevelopment for social reasons has become smaller scale, more sensitive and more carefully managed. Still, even such development is not without problems. The construction process is by nature disruptive. And when everything around us is completed simultaneously, places can feel artificial, contrived and lifeless. It takes time for the new activities now housed there to feel as though they belong and for the character of the new place to become softened by human usage.
Spirit of place develops slowly.
It is always changing and growing. What was there before is not necessarily physical. In addition to the invisible ecology that gives a place wholeness and integrity, human thought and action influence the spirit of a place. How it is used, revered or discarded affects it. Development is everywhere, and change is a part of healthy life, springing organically as it does from life energies.