It’s about balance—honoring the old places that give the city its character while adding new buildings that serve current needs. Keep the street rhythm, preserve key landmarks, and design new structures so they fit the scale and style around them. That way the city can grow without losing the sense of place that makes it feel alive.

I’ve been to a few places that strike a good balance. In one town the old brick market square still sits beside a glass‑shaped museum that’s only a few blocks away; the glass doesn’t dwarf the cobbles, it just reflects them. In another city, the original railway station has been repurposed into a café and the new office towers lean in a respectful angle so they don’t block the historic silhouette. And there’s a coastal town where the century‑old lighthouse still gives way to a new, low‑rise marina—its lights still shine over the same sea, but the new decks are built to blend with the wind and the wind chimes that used to line the old promenade. Those are the kinds of places where the old pulse keeps going while new walls rise.