Is London growing too high ?

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Is London growing too high ?

There are many skyscrapers and high buildings in London, and some are still being built.

I think it reflects the very important economic and business side of the city and it gives a modern image.

However I don’t really like the impression given by all these buildings when you arrive in the city. The view isn’t really pleasant, but more, there’s business everywhere and no place for an artistic or aesthetic aspect of the city. So I think it depends on people’s tastes, but London should maybe stop working on high buildings and concentrate a bit more on building nice and smaller buildings.

Sarah

I think that anyway, London will stop growing. The landscape can’t be infinitely modified. The city may develop normally economically speaking but London’s face, which is the only thing that everyone who comes and lives in the city knows about, is deformed by cranes, which are the consequence of growing high.

Manon

In my opinion, the problem isn’t that the buildings are too high, but it’s that there are too many high buildings in London. That’s why we can say that London is growing too high. For example, I don’t remember seeing a house hen I was in central London. But I think it’s normal that building become higher and higher ? It’s logical because London is a city which is in development.

Aimée-Lou

I don’t think London is growing too high. London is a city composed of high building, but also of residential buildings, low blocks, houses, sold streets with their shops… London is not as high as cities like New York with its skyscrapers for instance. So I think London can still grow.

Marion

I don’t know if we can say that London is growing too high but it’s true that the huge buildings in the City contrast with the rest of the city (as opposed to Paris where high buildings are forbidden). I agree with the fact that it’s important for a capital to grow and show its power. However I prefer cities that keep their traditional image

Mélodie

While walking in central London I was surprised by the strange association of nice old little houses and new high buildings.

I think this diversity is something that should be preserved because it’s one of London’s particularities as a unique city. And these high buildings are part of the townscape. It would be good for London to stay like that – with its diversity. It would be sad if the high buildings took the place of more “traditional little buildings”. As a conclusion I would say that London ahs not grown too high yet, but if it continued, it could.

Hannah

I think that London is not growing too high because a lot of cities have higher buildings like New York or Tokyo. Moreover the height of the buildings shows the economic part of the city. That’s why the highest skyscrapers in London are in the same area. It’s the economic center of London.

Furthermore, the most important economic places in the world have very high buildings, and we can suppose that London is one of these towns and it appears as a modern city with its skyscrapers. . To conclude , London symbolizes modernity and a world economic city thanks to its very high buildings.

Timothée

England imposes itself more and more in the world compared to other European countries such as France. London is very representative of this situation. Skyscrapers are growing in every corner of the city contrasting with the other buildings form the 20th century. Even tough this represents the economic power of London, it destroys a little bit every day the cultural aspect of the city.

Mathilde

If I had to make a comparison of London’s skyline with Paris’ skyline I would say that London is the Alps and Paris is a hilly landscape ! Personally, I think there are not too many skyscrapers in Central London. If I could decide I would stop the construction of skyscrapers. They hide the oldest buildings like cathedrals and it’s sad because older buildings make the city look nicer ! Céline

We can’t say that London is growing too high because London is a large capital city. London is essential in the world as an economic and financial centre. Thanks to this evolution, London has become an attractive city. London needs to measure itself against New York because in Europe, it is indisputably the best city from an economic point of view. However high-rise buildings are not a way to make a city pleasant to see. Indeed Paris doesn’t need to measure itself against New York. Paris is above all a city where people take much pleasure in admiring wonderful monuments and great architecture.

Assya

I think London is growing too high. It is too big ! From one part of the city to another the differences are so big ! The cultures are different, the landscapes are different, lives are different. I think London is too commercial. The life in the city with the skyscrapers is stressing. A lot of new buildings are under construction and I think it is a bad idea.

Elia.

I think that London’s buildings are not too high for the moment. But if they were growing up a lot, perhaps it would be too much. Because it’s really unpleasant for the inhabitants to have skyscrapers everywhere. The problem is that lots and lots of people come every year to find a job in London, so there is no choice.

Eloïse

Indeed, London is growing too high. There are too many buildings sites and today skyscrapers are growing next to older buildings ion the city. Moreover the suburbs around London are spreading.

Anastasia

In my view London isn’t growing too high. If you compare London to a city such as Paris, it’s true that the capital of England possesses a lot of high buildings. However, compared to New York or Hong-Kong London doesn’t seem so tall. Moreover, I believe that skyscrapers symbolise the power and modernity of a city. It belongs to a new kind of art. Therefore it’s important to enable the capital to erect “huge” buildings.

To finish we can notice that the most famous buildings date back form the 11th century, like the Tower of London or from the 19th century like Big Ben, which reminds us of the historical past of London. The largest city of England mixes modernity and history. As a consequence, skyscrapers don’t take a big part in the urban area.

Jonathan

I think London is growing too high because there are more an more skyscrapers in the city, which destroys the old historical buildings. Moreover the suburbs are larger and larger because of the increase in population.

Nicolas L.

As for me London is growing to high. Indeed since the redevelopment of the Docklands, the city has attracted more and more people so many buildings are being built.

But to build them many workers are needed, so there is another kind of people who come to London.

As a consequence, the city is becoming very rich, so we can say that this high development is very beneficial to the city.

Etienne

On the one hand, we can say that, indeed London is growing too high, with the new buildings and skyscrapers that were recently built in the City. It makes an opposition between the posh district of the West End and the new economic district.

On the other hand, If we compare the London skyscrapers with the New York ones, we can that London stays a quite authentic city.

Camille S.

London has many skyscrapers like “One Canada Square” that has 50 floors and “8 Canada Square” with 45 floors. Many of London’s skyscrapers are one of the highest in Europe. We can explain the presence of many skyscrapers by the fact that London as a cultural, commercial and financial city which doesn’t stop evolving. To conclude, we can say that London is growing too high but it’s not a problem because there are a lot of beautiful things to see.

Christelle

I don’t think central London is growing too high because of its skyscrapers. For me, buildings permit London to establish its power and its wealth. Also, modern buildings make London more attractive and landscapes become nicer.

Camille P.

I think, London is growing high but not too high : it as a good thing for the city to grow. That’s why I think that we can’t say “too high” because the city will be big one day or another. So the way or the speed it is growing at doesn’t really matter.

Shaan

According to me London is growing way too high. Anyway it’s a way for London to get a new power : the more the city grows, the larger its power is.

Claire

I think London may be too proud of itself. This city is one of the biggest in the world but it’s not a reason for trying to measure up against New York. It’s great for a city to want to be better if it doesn’t forget its citizens because of a big self-esteem.

Morgane.

Personally I like London but it’s not my kind of city. I need a city either “small” (Paris) or “high” (with skyscrapers like New York). London is a mixture of both. In a city I think there must be old monuments and historic monuments. In London there is so, but not enough for me. I can conclude that London bets too much on economy and novelty and abandons a little bit its heritage.

Baptiste

I think London is growing too high : this city doesn’t’ keep any architectural souvenirs form he past. Indeed, all ancient buildings, which sometimes fall into disrepair, are replaced by recent buildings. However, this modernity can be taken as proof of the economic power of the country. At first glance we guess that London is a city which wants, by its original architecture, to attract a huge number of tourists.

Luc

When I was in London I wasn’t shocked by the height of the skyscrapers. I don’t think London is growing too high thanks to redevelopment. I don’t think the new buildings are very high. We can clearly see the “Gherkin” because there are not many buildings as high as it. The London Town Hall is not high for example.

Clothilde

The skyline of London is getting higher and higher. To my view it is bad in many respects : First, the modern skyscrapers are not always fine to look at , like the Town Hall. Second, these buildings are so close to historic monuments that it creates a disturbing feeling and futurist buildings can easily hide and spoil the view of a monument.

Florian

I don’t think that London is growing too high. First because high skyscrapers are a sign of economic and financial power ?. If London wants to measure itself against New York it has to be the place of many headquarters. And these headquarters are located in skyscrapers. Moreover a skyscraper is a sign of modernity and London wants to be seen as a modern city. Finally I don’t think that skyscrapers are ugly. A lot of tourists go to London in order to see them. The facts show that skyscrapers are beautiful and/or impressive.

Guillaume

I think London is growing too high because of its skyscrapers under construction. They want to copy New York and at the same time keep old buildings in the city. For me a skyscraper is not beautiful : it’s too high , we don’t see the sky. It’s too imposing. We have the impression it will fall on us. But when I see a skyscraper it’s breathtaking. I wonder how it can stand. Although it is not beautiful it is impressive. It’s what London wants, like any other capital city.

Estelle