Making way for progress

While this article is a couple of years old, it's still just as relevant as it was when published. The face of Shanghai is literally changing daily as the old neighborhoods make way for the bigger, sleeker and shinier. Is something being lost? Certainly enough of the lane houses have been renovated and historically preserved that they aren't really in danger of becoming extinct and a lot of the ones that are being demolished are in such bad repair that living conditions inside can be pretty grim. (i.e. families may lack running water, sewage systems, or electricity that hasn't been amatuerly wired) Nonetheless there is a certain wave of nostalgia that comes over any architecture or history enthusiast who sees old builidings being torn down. It's also tragic how the residents lives are turned upside down as soaring propery prices force them to relocate to distant suburbs which are far from their old neighbors and jobs.

Anyway, here's the article, if you don't have time to read it all, I still recommend taking a look at the pictures:

http://www.asialiteraryreview.com/web/article/en/98