Architectural conservation is about keeping cities distinct

I refer to Mercy Wong Chung-yan's letter ('Wing Lee Street is not worth saving from wrecker's ball', March 29).

Her opinions are based on the mistaken assumptions that architectural conservation is an obstacle to development. and the money could be better spent elsewhere.

In the case of Wing Lee Street, the significance of its conservation lies not so much in the physical building fabric of the street and tong lau [Chinese-style tenements], but in the intangible spatial quality and historic ambience of the environment.

The conservation of the street space and the low-rise tong lau will have the immediate benefit of maintaining the view and openness of the immediate environment, which will help raise the value of the surrounding high-rise properties in the long run.

More importantly, a conserved heritage setting and the possibility for creative adaptive reuse offer immense potential as a catalyst for the emergence of a spectacular design district in the SoHo and NoHo area that can be compared to those in the cities of Helsinki, Miami, Milan and Tokyo. This will create new jobs, open new markets and attract new investment.

In contrast, the demise of the street and its associated tong lau would surely lead to another dense piece of unremarkable property development in an already densely built area, from which a privileged few would benefit greatly while many in the neighbourhood would gain little.