These Days, It's All About Contextual Development

Over at Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn, they’re riffing on the mots du jour–Contextual Development:

The word of the moment is CONTEXTUAL. And I am loving it. I understand it to mean that development should never be indifferent to the historical and residential context that already exists. Bulldozing through a neighborhood and changing its architectual and social character is a sure no no. To be contextual means to proceed with development in a way that compliments and improves what is already there…Brooklyn is so hot right now that greenbacks seem to be burning holes in the pockets of developers and politicians. Overdevelopment could quite possibly destroy what makes this borough such a livable place. Development that takes into consideration the context and the history of place will be much easier to bear.

Contextual Development [OTBKB]