HONG KONG: Lately in Hong Kong, some environmentalists have been arguing that we must preserve every building simply because the structures are old and exert emotional appeal in favor of widespread preservation.

Apart from such a course being prohibitively expensive, it also would be totally impractical. Hong Kong has become something of a byword for forward momentum, for willingness to embrace change and to move on.

However compelling the siren call of nostalgia, we cannot afford to stand still. We may figure large in global consciousness, but we occupy a very small place on the world Atlas. Ours is a crowded, compact community, where every square meter of space is valued far beyond whatever scale may apply elsewhere.

Hence we have to look at our legacy of aging buildings with calculating and discerning eyes. We have to analyze very carefully what may be worth preserving and whether it is indeed practicable to preserve it. We cannot afford to turn our city into a museum of past glories. The greater necessity is to keep it always at the forefront, as a showcase of future potential.

In their way, and in their time, today's aging buildings were at the forefront of a momentum not unlike that of today, to transform Hong Kong from a sleepy entrepot of the China trade into one of the manufacturing marvels of Asia. The old buildings served their purpose and have now surrendered to the fresh imperatives of a new millennium.

Their obsolescence is integral to the pattern of our evolution. We could not be where we are had we stayed where we were.

We have to think hard about how far we can go to preserve our heritage within the context of what we seek to be. We have to determine how best to ensure that what we preserve remains of value to our present needs, and does not become a mere sterile monument to our past.

Our past and present are our yin and yang. The yin is our past, the darker element; sad, passive, dark, feminine, downward-looking and corresponding to night. The yang is the brighter element; vigorous, active, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponding to day.

We need both, yes, but with a sense of proportion. We have to get the balance right.

I would also like to point out that building management in Hong Kong has everything to do with public governance and community building. In working towards a harmonious society, we have to understand that the basic unit in building our community is the family. Hong Kong is made up of over 2.3 million families, the great majority of which reside in apartment buildings. Tens and hundreds of these families make up a building; a number of these buildings constitute a single administrative "area", and 63 "areas" make up the 18 districts of Hong Kong.

It is imperative that families living together in an apartment building each contribute to the welfare of the common good and participate in the management of cogent issues of common concern. It is in keeping with this spirit of community building and the exercise of good public governance that we should promote the concept of contemporary building management beyond the boundaries of the buildings, and indeed into our community.

Lastly, I must emphasize the importance of the cultural dimensions of aging buildings and how modern buildings should embody the very essence and legacy of our heritage and values as beheld and manifested by these buildings: good citizenship, effective public governance, and the spirit of building a harmonious community for Hong Kong.

The author is former secretary for home affairs of the Hong Kong SAR government

(HK Edition 12/09/2009 page1)