Abstract: The reference to development especially in two-thirds of the world to date remains attached to increasing infrastructures, industry, job opportunities, among other things, claiming to serve the economic concerns of the people. This prevalent notion naturally carries with it the attendant troubles of displacement, overcrowding, blight and criminality. This scale of weight between gains and losses triggers ethical questioning. This is so not only because of the inequalities in the sharing of burdens and gains among the people but more importantly because of the need to answer the basic question of what can truly serve the flourishing and development of peoples and societies. The ‘spatial’ inequalities, especially observable in conventional urban development approaches, speak of marginalization rather than of participation. The paper argues that a sensitive and ethical approach to space could serve as corrective to the above. Through a critical reading of the concept of space in forging agency and an appeal to solidarity, the paper hopes to contribute to the dialogue on what makes for authentic development.