Places come with a motive.
The motive is the reason it exists. If the motives seem benevolent, we join in. There are places that welcome - a park, a museum, the waters edge. And others, such as prisons, waste treatment plants or electrical substations that may repel.
On a more subtle level, the motives of a place may be what we feel are the true but hidden motives - good or bad - behind the space, such as greed, fear, contempt, grandioseness, conceit, deceit, compassion, empathy, generosity, etc.
The motives have to feel positive and genuine before we will engage freely with a place. It should have our interest at heart and speak to us honestly. We tend to search out and connect with those places who’s motives we trust, completely.
We want to be a part of both the motives of a space and of how it unfolds, but can’t always. If the motives are foul or if the telling is confusing, we become disengaged.