admittedly a slightly extremist interpretation of "old" palermo vs. "new" palermo - and i say the following whilst painfully recognizing the part myself and all expats unwittingly play in the gentrification of a neighborhood - but you will always find me on the side of the beautifully dilapidated building with character and history over the glass towers which spring up like weeds in every single city the world over the moment they experience a modicum of economic growth.  if one's desire is to live in an architecturally homogenous tower devoid of any character whatsoever, then one needn't ever leave the warm bosom of [insert any north american, western european, or antipodean metropolis here].