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The sense of place is part of our human chemistry. We inherently know where we are welcomed and belong. Each of us arguably finds our highest purpose through adding our own personalities to these places, influencing them subtly or dramatically.

We relate best to places that reward the human scale, whether in a borough of New York City or on the comfortable main street of my small hometown. Planners, architects and developers seek to create or recreate these places for us - reflecting back to us our sense of ourselves. We may get there on a freeway, but we want to lose the car as quickly as possible.

Nob Hill has been such a welcoming place since the earliest days of Route 66. From my first visit, it was my kind of place. I now live and work in the neighborhood.

I learned recently about the sale of the west half of a key block at the core of Nob Hill - the block bounded by Natural Sound and Starbucks and anchored by Flying Star. Frankly, I was concerned about the potential impacts to the chemistry in the area and on some of my favorite shops in town.

We walk, shop and meet friends in places like Nob Hill. In fact, we define our social selves through these chosen worlds. Each person's sense of place is different for a mosaic of personal and cultural reasons, although we often seek those places that attract people with compatible wills and wants as our own.

Some places are more insular and change slowly, their paces and people resist modern scurry. Other places change quickly - driven by success or distress - often at the expense of those attributes that invited us there in the first place. Most of us would agree, though, the value of our chosen places is much higher than the sum of their real estate parts. It was with this calculus that I looked into the changes happening in Nob Hill.

I tend toward more Bohemian places - like Nob Hill - where new ideas are shared, even demanded, by those who throw their veracities into the lively mix. Expression ranges across diverse cultures, ages and commerce in such places - whether in menus, music, art, books, products, services, careers or lifestyles. Success for Nob Hill requires this vibrancy in its myriad stores and offerings.

I pursued my Creative Class math and sense-of-place concerns with Jim Trump, head maestro with Union Development and Build New Mexico, the new owners of the half-block. Build New Mexico and Union Development have made other substantial positive impacts on New Mexico's commercial sense of place - from the Renaissance to Albuquerque Studios - albeit on different scales.

Jim is tuned into and accommodating the sensitivities of place and mix. All the businesses there currently have been given good options to continue their enterprises at the location with some moving required. Some of the businesses have chosen to make the transition and several others have not. Fortunately for many fans, Jerry Lane at the Book Stop will stay in the complex. (Check out his great book sale in preparation for the move to a larger space.)

As part of his commitment to the project and Nob Hill, Jim moved his own operations to the site, returning to the neighborhood where he grew up. His father was one of the developers of the Ridgecrest area. Jim noted the new Union Development/BNM office was the old home to the KOAT-TV studio back in the Õ50s and early Õ60s. Jim recalled being in the building as a kid in the audience for the local version of "American Bandstand."

Like so much in life, it is not where you start from, it is where you end up that defines the place you call home. Nob Hill will benefit from the hometown investments of imagination and energy by Union Development.