It goes without saying that Hawaii is special. Our isolated location, tropical environment and multicultural population make Hawaii a unique place. A good part of that comes from the land itself and our many historic structures.

This diversity is visible in our architecture, in particular historic buildings.

As our cities and towns continue to expand with a growing population, there can be pressure to demolish some of the most symbolic, historic structures and ignore treasured landscapes, without which Hawaii would not be Hawaii.

Wherever possible, we all must be concerned with preservation of our unique heritage.

Often tied to preservation is good land planning. As examples, that means development that recognizes view planes, air flow, mass and placement of structures.

One of the key ingredients in preservation is citizen involvement. This situation is at its best when concerned citizens work with various government agencies and developers to find good solutions.

Robert M. Fox, president of Fox Hawaii Inc., studied architecture in California and Japan. He was one of the founders of the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation in 1974 and contributed to a series of historic preservation articles in the 1970s in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

David Cheever has been in business in Hawaii for more than 40 years; he has worked for Bank of Hawaii and also founded his own marketing consulting firm, David Cheever Marketing. Among the many non­profit boards he has served on include the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation and the Hawaii Architectural Foundation.

Articles will run the first Sunday of each month. Your comments and ideas are welcome. Email keephawaiihawaii@staradvertiser.com.