Last night we got our first thunderstorm after a scorching dry summer…It was wonderful to wake up this morning and enjoy the smell of fresh clean air. The kind of smell one enjoys when going into a forest or in a big park when the weather is a bit chilly; something which Maltese never manage to enjoy as apart from the fact that trees and green are still considerably lacking on our tiny island, our respect for the environment has been lacking for the last thirty years at least. It is only lately people started considering the environment as a way to measure our good standard of living. In Malta there is a general trend to convert every tiny part of soil into a concrete block.
We Maltese have to accept the fact that Malta is practically one big city on a tiny rock in the middle of the Mediterranean. Eurostat statistics show that Malta’s population will keep increasing up till 2025 and then starts falling again. This would mean that apart from other problems which might arise, we need to take care of our environment more seriously. We have to adapt to the fact that we don’t have all the luxury of other big nations. But yet again, politics and money always take a pivoting role. The building industry is one of the strongest industries in Malta which leaves good income to a person who invested wisely in his/her property. Everyone is greedy for a piece of land here! ... Owning land in Malta automatically makes you rich! So it might be hard to convince a person to move out of his house or sell a piece of land so that a large building accommodating more people is erected in the same area unless a fair compensation (which is only fair) is given.
Engineers and Architects managed to achieve incredible feats in designing dwellings which are bigger, safer, more environmentally friendly and more comfortable. I am totally pro high rise buildings. As I see it, if people manage to fit in one big block there will be ample free space to enjoy…but no! the Maltese don’t see it that way. Everyone wants to leave his/her footprint, build their own house, with no garden (to gain that extra useless room). Moreover, the nice houses that were built in the 70s and which had a garden are now being demolished to build a crippled block of apartments, thin and tall with miniscule rooms, no aesthetics at all and at exorbitant prices. And maybe that’s why Maltese people hate high rise buildings…as that’s the impression they get of one such building…an eyesore on a much larger scale! It shouldn’t be so though! A good piece of architecture should be pleasing to the eye and esteemed as a good piece of art.
I just hope that things improve rather soon…Till then…I will enjoy the cool breeze till the summer heat dries everything up again back.
Wish you all a wonderful day.
