Response to Southern Beauty: Alexis Noel

It is true that the south is becoming more and more industrialized and city-like. In North Carolina, highways are popping up all over, trees are being mowed down for apartment complexes and old schools and brick building are being demolished for new mall outlets. What is happening to our southern history and beauty with all this new development?

Take for example Durham, North Carolina. Durham is home to many things, such as Duke University, Research Triangle Park, Bull Durham (the movie) and many other things [1]. However, if you were to take a walk down downtown, you would find yourself surrounded by tall, brick tobacco factories (long shut down), an art school and cute little motif shops, all surrounded by lush greenery from Duke forest. That is what I consider southern beauty: Durham is a place. Durham has history (many civil rights monuments around town). It contains a people proud to live in Durham. It has local artists, college students and small, individually owned shops. Duke gardens, well known across the state, is home to acres of beautiful flowers and decorative scenery.
The sad part about Durham is that it is slowly being consumed by the need for consumers. The tobacco factories are being demolished for a new outlet mall. New Targets, Walmarts and TJ Maxx's are being put up as I speak.
While "Gone With the Wind" images may be long gone, a new southern beauty is being shown through cities rich with history. Let's hope we can still maintain that history without the world being overrun with consumerism.