When economic growth and overpopulation damage the landscape

[The Lawspeaker]

http://wikitravel.org/upload/en/b/b5/Greenwich01.jpg

This is not photoshopped. What you see here is a view on the Docklands and The City (London, England) as seen from the Greenwich Observatory.

Europe, like America, is more and more a victim of Manhattinasation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattanization) and the ruining of natural views and landscapes because of overpopulation and economic growth which expresses itself in high-rise constructions and suburban sprawl. To me this view on London looks like I am looking from England to America and to me the view is completely unnatural.

Discuss.

[Eldritch]

What's the point of having an urban plan if you don't follow it?

(I'm assuming London, like Helsinki, has one).

This monstrosity is too tall, and it's made of the wrong materials. Yet there it is, like a big, erect, raised middle finger from Aatos Erkko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aatos_Erkko) to the average man on the street:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Sanomatalo_Helsinki.jpg

[The Lawspeaker]

I think that the problem with a dense population usually is that the normal natural (humane) scale of things is being lost and in cities like that a person is sure to feel little and unimportant.

Not only that but they use the wrong materials when building: everything gleams and it is effectively a show of arrogance. Also the space between such buildings is usually seen as too costly to use for green spaces and quickly filled up as well.

And there one goes from city that can still have the feel of a village to a prison for the spirit and it should be a sign that perhaps... there is a limit to how much economic growth and population density human beings (at least perhaps Europeans) can handle.

In some cities high-rise (if done in moderation) may certainly add something to the landscape (I am thinking about cities in flat landscapes) if the right materials are being used and the ground surrounding the premises is being used in a humane manner (parks and for instance a marina) when the area itself is situated alongside for instance a bay (not a relatively narrow river) which could create the effect of having a lot of space around you.

Building high-rise in an area with for instance an old city centre, forests, hills or mountains around is a bad idea as the space itself is already limited and the horizon "already in use" and it only creates the feeling of being locked up and when you approach such a city from the hills you would get such a view as you saw in the first picture.

[Daos]

I really hate seeing modern glass and steel buildings alongside beautiful old buildings, but this trend won't go away any-time soon. In Bucharest, far from restoring old buildings they let them fall apart so they can build modern buildings in their place...:mad:

A good example from Cluj (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluj-Napoca):

http://100eyes.ro/mediaserver/3/z/37c0936ed156ebeaf1bfe7fd18871cff_view

The most imposing building is the Széki Palace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szeky_Palace,_Cluj-Napoca) and next to and across it there are two hideous buildings belonging to Banca Transilvania (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banca_Transilvania) and one belonging to BCR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banca_Comercial%C4%83_Rom%C3%A2n%C4%83)...:rolleye s:

Watch and marvel:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/CJROBanci.jpg/800px-CJROBanci.jpg
The buildings next to the Palace

http://economictimes.ro/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/sediul_central_grup_financiar.jpg
The building across the Palace

I seriously doubt that these buildings were built on an empty space (right in the centre of the town!) and I'm inclined to believe that whatever buildings stood there were demolished.

Gold is King...

[Fortis in Arduis]

Canary Wharf is actually really nice.

Yes, the buildings are incongruous with the view from Greenwich, but Greenwich itself is has a charm which is not diminished by a view of the Docklands.