Editing Yangon (section)

===Architecture===
{{see also|List of tallest buildings in Yangon}}
[[File:YangonViewKDG2024.png|thumb|The skyline of Yangon in late November 2024]]

[[Downtown Yangon]] is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123266507433707833 |title=Asia's Lost Treasure Trove |author=Tom Wright |date=23 January 2009 |work=WSJ Weekend Journal |access-date=8 August 2017 |archive-date=16 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816005200/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123266507433707833 |url-status=live}}</ref> The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in south-east Asia.<ref name="bygone"/> Downtown Yangon is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former [[High Court (Burma)|High Court]], the former [[Ministers' Building|Secretariat buildings]], the former [[BEHS 6 Botataung|St. Paul's English High School]] and the [[Strand Hotel]] are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most downtown buildings from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=on}} ceilings, allowing for the construction of [[mezzanine (architecture)|mezzanines]]. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.<ref name=oldies>{{Cite journal |title=Demand for downtown's golden oldies still strong |url=http://mmtimes.com/no449/b007.html |date=15 December 2008 |journal=The Myanmar Times |author=Htar Htar Khin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214145346/http://mmtimes.com/no449/b007.html |archive-date=14 February 2012}}</ref>

In 1996, the [[Yangon City Development Committee]] created a [[Yangon City Heritage List]] of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/colonial-past-could-be-the-saving-of-rangoon-2219991.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/colonial-past-could-be-the-saving-of-rangoon-2219991.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Colonial past could be the saving of Rangoon |last=Kennedy |first=Phoebe |date=20 February 2011 |work=The Independent |access-date=10 March 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years.<ref name="rob">{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366b4332-69b5-11e1-8996-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366b4332-69b5-11e1-8996-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Myanmar pushes to save colonial buildings |last=Robinson |first=Gwen |date=9 March 2012 |work=Financial Times |access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> The [[Yangon Heritage Trust]], an NGO started by [[Thant Myint-U]], aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.<ref name="rob"/>

A latter-day hallmark of Yangon is the eight-story [[apartment building]]. (In Yangon parlance, a building with no [[elevator]]s (lifts) is called an apartment building and one with elevators is called a [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=City living: condos vs apartments |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con13.htm |date=1 September 2007 |journal=The Myanmar Times |access-date=12 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720094137/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con13.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Condos which have to invest in a local power generator to ensure 24-hour electricity for the elevators are beyond the reach of most Yangonites.) Found throughout the city, eight-story apartment buildings provide inexpensive housing for many Yangonites. The apartments are usually eight stories high (including the ground floor) mainly because city regulations, until February 2008, required that all buildings higher than {{convert|75|ft|m}} or eight stories to install lifts.<ref name=lift>{{Cite news |title=Lift regulation changed |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no409/n013.htm |date=10 March 2008 |author=Yi Yi Htwe |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216085020/http://mmtimes.com/no409/n013.htm |archive-date=16 December 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The code calls for elevators in buildings higher than {{convert|62|ft|m}} or six stories, likely ushering in the era of the six-story apartment building. Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.

Unlike other major Asian cities, Yangon does not have any skyscrapers. This is due to rule that no building should be more than 75% the height above sea level of [[Shwedagon Pagoda]], which rises about {{convert|160|m}}. For instance, in 2015, a luxury housing project was cancelled due to its proximity to Shwedagon Pagoda. Critics of the project claimed that the project could cause structural damage to the pagoda.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tha |first=Kyaw Phyo |date=2016-02-08 |title=Once-Cancelled Dagon City 1 Project Relocated to New Site |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/once-cancelled-dagon-city-1-project-relocated-to-new-site.html |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US |archive-date=22 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822092110/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/once-cancelled-dagon-city-1-project-relocated-to-new-site.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Aside from a few high-rise hotels and office towers, most high-rise buildings (usually 10 stories and up) are "condos" scattered across prosperous neighborhoods north of downtown such as [[Bahan Township|Bahan]], [[Dagon Township|Dagon]], [[Kamayut Township|Kamayut]] and [[Mayangon Township|Mayangon]].

Older satellite towns such as [[Thaketa Township|Thaketa]], [[North Okkalapa Township|North Okkalapa]], and [[South Okkalapa Township|South Okkalapa]] are lined mostly with one to two-story detached houses with access to the city's electricity grid. Newer satellite towns such as [[North Dagon Township|North Dagon]] and [[South Dagon Township|South Dagon]] are in a grid layout. The satellite towns—old or new—receive little or no municipal services.