Places matter. Whether we are going about our daily routine or visiting places for reflection, spiritual refreshment and gathering with friends, we are spatial creatures. In the 21st century, we face many challenges and choices: cultural heritage vs global uniformity, consumerism vs sustainability, inclusiveness vs gated communities and so on. Using our collective cultural wisdom, our diversity and our humanity, we can go behind false dichotomies to find balance. I hope we can talk about successful ways people are making the choice to celebrate the sense of place, in their neighborhood, in their city and their country. We need more collaboration across disciplines and more communication with alternative ways of seeing and acting to make our way toward a healthier and brighter tomorrow. We will try to be positive, collaborative, and generous but make it clear that these views are not always shared and that we must not shrink from calling out the barriers to creating places of timeless value. I look forward to hearing your ideas of the sense of place and share the ancient taro fields of Hanalei, on the island of Kauai, Hawai'i.