In this day and age,historic buildings still abound in many metropolises where new office complexes and residential developments proliferate.Whereas nearly everyone agrees in principle that historic buildings carry cultural,educational or artistic value,when it comes to the competing interests of preserving historic buildings and constructing new ones,people hold divergent views.Some assert that old buildings should be torn down to create ample room for new constructions.Personally,I think their view has both merit and demerit.
Granted,the development of modern cities,both in population size and in functionality,necessitates the removal of certain existing structures whose history can often be traced back to centuries ago.In the first place,new constructions must be proposed and carried out to accommodate the markedly-increasing urban population.Given that almost all the present-day cities are already packed with places of residence,commerce and recreation and the land available for new housing developments is increasingly scarce,some historic buildings must be demolished to make room for more compact,high-rise constructions.Secondly,the fast-paced automated and digitized modern city life has rendered some unremarkable old buildings redundant.Even if we renovated or remodeled these old structures to meet the requirements of contemporary urban life that is best characterized by its dynamism and convenience,the utility of retrofitted old building s would still pale compared to that of the modern buildings tailored-made for modern functions.Nevertheless,there are other considerations that should be given precedence over the utilitarian value of historic buildings.First and foremost,some historic buildings uniquely represent specific historical events or figure.If such structures were all razed,accurate representation of the corresponding events and figures would be out of the question.Further,some historic buildings possess exceptional esthetic value and mere replication or documentation can by no means demonstrate the superior craftsmanship in them as vividly.Additionally,many historic vernacular dwellings embody the distinctive lifestyle of ethnic minority groups.It would be an ethnological catastrophe if all these dwellings were knocked down for the sake of current urban needs.
In the final analysis,I concede that the demolition of some historic buildings is inevitable in the process of urban development.However,it would be erroneous and imprudent if we fail to acknowledge that some old buildings are too significant historically,esthetically or ethnologically to dismantle.On balance,I am convinced that urban advancement and the preservation of significant historic buildings are not necessarily mutually exclusive and urban developers must not indiscriminately meet modern needs at the expense of the historic buildings that have notable historical,esthetic or ethnological value.
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