At the heart of IDEAN‘s open culture lies a distinct identity. It gives strength to individual actions, while at the same time being (re-) produced by each activity. Whereas IDEAN‘s culture is open and not bounded to language or to a distinct geographical location, the identity of IDEAN neighbourhoods is highly contextual. Relations are of utmost importance to the history of a place, as much as to topography, neighbours,and climate. Consequently IDEAN neighbourhoods are cautiously embedded in their context and carefully designed. By presenting places instead of strategic locations, their power lies in the combination of openness and distinctiveness.