It is vital that more power…

It is vital that more power be given to local residents through their municipal representatives to preserve heritage buildings, or we risk losing the unique character of our cities and towns which make them attractive places to live in the first place. With more and more places in the world increasingly coming to resemble each other (glass and steel towers of isolation) there is an increased urgency to the task of preserving and expanding the ease and speed of designating structures as heritage buildings. Rules restricting development that place stricter requirements on developers to justify demolishing older buildings are required. There must be more, not less, protection for older buildings and neighbourhoods. The definition of 'historic' or 'heritage' must be expanded to include more recent structures. Growth and change for the sake of growth and change will not create more livable spaces. Rules such as those in place in Amsterdam and other heritage cities in Europe need to be adopted in core urban settings. While change and evolution cannot, and should not be stopped, it must be more carefully managed in the interests of all citizens and not just the developers and their shareholders who, while providing essential investment in an expanded and modernized housing stock, do not always have the best interests of local residents at heart. Rules managing development must be strengthened not weakened. Citizen committees of the kind that exist in many European countries need to be established to partner with developers. Developers must pay more attention to the needs and concerns of local residents and structures and institutions designed specifically to ensure partnership between these groups must be established and/or enhanced/expanded.