Today we went on a program excursion to the London Tower which is just off the side of London Bridge. In addition to the tower's beauty and rich cultural background, it also inspired me to think more deeply about the intention behind why these landmarks are treasured and protected both in London and other large metropolitan areas. Especially when you consider that the location of some of these medieval sites could be extremely profitable if they were developed into either commercial or residential spaces. The only real answer to this question is what we've been discussing in class, that these areas have a personal significance to the residents of these cities. In addition, this is also another example of marketing your city, as while sites like this might cost the local government a huge sum for maintenance, security, and etc., they are also profitable in terms of attracting tourists from foreign areas who can then go on to spend their money in your city. Another thing the group I was touring the facility with found interesting was the apartments that were located towards the outside of the tower, yet still physically on the property. We were curious who lived there as we assumed the rent to live there must be astronomical given the location to both the city center and the fact that these flats were basically inside a castle. My group ended up asking a beefeater who lived there and found out that those apartments were actually available to the tower’s staff at a reduced rate. This actually surprised me as if i’m being honest the discussion during this course has kind of made me suspicious about city officials and originally thought they would have had more capitalistic intentions in developing these areas of the tower into apartments. My visit to that area today was extremely fun and I felt that I came away with more knowledge than I came in with. If I had to pick a favorite feature of the excursion it would be the royal beast's room as it was interesting to hear about the moronic things they did for entertainment.
Francesca :)
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