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hose familiar words of greeting to a place have a universality that everyone recognises. This sense of recognition is essential when it comes to the bot- tom-up actions that social design generates. If an area is being regenerated and public consultation has largely been an aspirational concept rather than an authentic exchange, even the most well-mean- ing projects can feel alien. Fragility is part of any human relationship or social fabric, and even when you engage sideways with a community, humility is key. Places undergoing transformation often expose frictions in identity, the perspective of residents at odds with those outside their own community. Rather than prescribing fixes, collaborative and open-ended projects leave space for activities and mutual under- standing to emerge.