Tall glass towers reduce world's cities to a bland similarity

Left: Opposite Sydney's Central Train Station, these generic giants show their Australian identity only by the odd flower growing bravely between them -- a Gymea lily. Looming over the unique beauty of the Opera House and the historic Sydney Harbour bridge (below), enormous new buildings blot out the older sites around Circular Quay. The same trend holds in Perth and Melbourne, Toronto and Vancouver, Beijing and Shanghai. Along with the politically embarrassing statues now being torn down, the unique history of the world's varied cities is steadily being erased. Apparently in service of capitalism.