Cookie Cutter Cities

In a time when we are in danger of all towns beginning to look just alike, please save the individuality of our communities. Don't let the urban planners cover the old charm with new shiny, plastic, cookie cutter sameness. For every mindless tourist you might make comfortable, there are hundreds who have the mental awareness to appreciate visual evidence that the old has evolved into the new. Our alleys and backyards are evidence of our history. The rock walls and the ivy represent our beginnings. The front facades of our downtown buildings have changed many times over the years, and will change again in years to come. But true beauty is found with a few cracks, a rock wall, a screen door, and a connection to how we arrived here. The identity of our children is built by a connection to their community. When all communities look just alike, then what connection will be made? How will they develop community pride if everything is the same everywhere? There is nothing wrong with cleaning and painting; there is nothing wrong with updating the facade of some buildings. But please, save what little historic corners and crevasses that are left. These small differences that make our town unique will cling in the memory of our children and the tourists passing through.