Many old cities around the world are going through
a major process of modernization. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of modernization?
A new
wave of industrialization has taken the developing world by storm. Among
many of these countries, a policy of fast-tracking has been adopted, often
producing mixed results. The advantages and disadvantages of the rapid modernizing
of many old cities around the world will be analyzed in this essay.
Perhaps
the most significant advantage of this process is the raising of living
standards. For example, many second tier cities in India have seen a boom
in the quality of life found there. Thus, the collective effort being
made in India to modernize is also having a positive impact on the lives of
Indian people. From this perspective, modernization can be seen as a
positive thing.
However,
despite this advantage, there are also notable disadvantages to fast-tracking
development. For one, rapid modernization often involves the destruction
of historical relics, buildings and roads. This has been unfortunately
true in areas like Anhui, China, where the demolishing of many culturally
significant buildings is occurring at a degree akin to that of the Cultural
Revolution. Thus, it is clear that there are many disadvantages to this
wave of modernization as well.
After
analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of bringing the cities of the
developing world up to speed with those of the developed world, it is felt
modernization causes more good than harm. However, it is hoped that
caution is employed in the efforts made to renew the old cities of the world.
(Courtesy: Ryan)
It is true that the dilemma of whether the modernized historical cities are beneficial for citizens or not has already become a controversial issue in recent years. In my opinion, there is no doubt that modernizing has many benefits, while there are also some drawbacks which are worth considering.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand, the most advantage of this process is the second line cities will become beneficiaries.Taking Nanjing, the second line city near Shanghai as an instance, among with the boom of economy of Shanghai, the local government increased their speed of development. This city has more investing opportunities than before, therefor, it has more revenue to improve people's standard of living by providing more social welfare, such as better medical service.
On the other hand, the process of modernization becomes a burden of infrastructures in some cities. For example, the inefficient transportation system will be over crowded, causing traffic congestion in rush hour. According to a recent survey in Melbourne, people have to increase their commuting time than prior to 10 years due to the increased population.
Secondly, since the crowding people into the modernized cities, which the valuable historical building have to be instead by artificial facilities to release the increasing population pressure. These historical buildings represent the unique traditional culture of these cities, which should be protected by government.Unfortunately, it happened a lot in some developed countries, for example,China, where the demolishing of many culturally significant buildings is occurred for the reforming.
In conclusion,modernization is indeed helpful for increasing people's life quality, however, there is no denying that it may bring about a disastrous impact on local infrastructures and culture. Thus, I think the disadvantages of modernizing old cities are outweigh than advantages.
Very good work. Keep it up.
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