While patterns have generally been static, unfoldings are intended as dynamic.
Unfoldings slightly resemble patterns, in that they are nuggets of information, which help you shape some part or aspect of the environment. However, unfoldings are vastly different from patterns in the way they work, and it is these differences which give them their power and effectiveness. Each unfolding has three key features which define its operation and its effect.
1. Unlike a pattern, which is a static configuration, an unfolding is dynamic. It acts to generate form.
2. Unlike a pattern, an unfolding arises from the whole, is shaped by the whole, and acts upon the whole.
3. An unfolding is by its nature personal, and requires human input and human feeling from the people doing the work, as an essential part of its contribution to the formation of the environment.See "What is an unfolding" on livingneighborhoods.org
