Panama City's Old Town in battle over viaduct

Panama City's Old Town, protected by man-made 25-foot stone walls built more than three centuries ago, has been likened to New Orleans' French Quarter -- but better.

Founded centuries ago on a tiny peninsula jutting into the Pacific Ocean, Old Town has been wracked by disease, ravaged by fire and in recent years revived into a destination.

Now the district is the scene of a new tussle. A proposed ocean causeway that would girdle Old Town has brought to the fore the issue of whether nations have a duty to ensure preservation of areas that have been deemed part of the world's heritage.


Source: Miami Herald