Eyesore

Eyesore

An eyesore is what an individual perceives as an unpleasant sight. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas and excessive commercial signage such as billboards. All eyesores are a matter of subjective opinion. For example, classical ruins are not perceived as dilapidated buildings and Times Square is enjoyed for the abundant use of neon signage. The notion of the eyesore is particularly related to the 20th Century and the advent of modern architecture and new unfamiliar structures such as pylons or wind turbines. [citation|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/jun/25/uk.renewableenergy|title=Homeowners get green light for 'eyesore' wind turbines|author=Nick Mathiason|date=Sunday June 25 2006|publisher=The Guardian] [citation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6763067.stm|title=Eyesore or gem: Gateshead car park |publisher=BBC|date=Monday, 18 June 2007]

Effect on property values

In the USA, the National Association of Realtors says an eyesore can shave about 10% off the value of a nearby listing. [cite web|title=Dealing with an eyesore next door|url=http://realestate.msn.com/Selling/Article_mw.aspx?cp-documentid=5249535|author=Rachel Koning Beals |accessdate=2008-03-16] However, a dilapidated fixer-upper can be a good investment because renovations provide a good rate of return. [cite book|title=Buy Low, Rent Smart, Sell High: Real Estate Investing for the Long Run|pages=61|author=Scott M. Frank, Andy H. Heller|year=2003|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1w81rmAXV0UC|quote=The bigger the eyesore, usually the more the profit.]

Remediation

Clean-up programmes to improve or remove eyesores are often started by local bodies or even national governments. These are frequently called "Operation Eyesore". [citation|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=February 9, 1972|title=British Start 'Operation Eyesore' Cleanup] High-profile international events such as the Olympic Games usually trigger such activity. [citation|publisher=New York Times|title=Russians Paint and Fuss As Olympic Games Near Putting Best Face on Things A Gleaming Soviet Capital Emigrate or Face Arrest|date=June 28, 1980, Saturday|author=Craig R. Whitney]

Others contend that it is best to nip such problems in the bud by addressing them while they are small, since signs of neglect encourage anti-social behaviour such as vandalism and fly-tipping. This strategy is known as "fixing broken windows".

Controversy

Whether some constructions are eyesores is a matter of controversial opinion which may change over time. Notable examples include:
* Eiffel Tower - Parisians wanted it pulled down as an eyesore but it is now the world's top landmark. [citation
url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/eiffel-tower-still-worlds-top-landmark/2008/02/15/1202760546422.html
publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald
title=Eiffel Tower still world's top landmark
date=February 15, 2008]
* Golden Gate Bridge - decried as "eye-sore to those living and a betrayal of future generations." [citation|url=http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=247|publisher=Contemporary Aesthetics|author=Yuriko Saito|title=Machines in the Ocean: The Aesthetics of Wind Farms]
* Millennium Dome - the ugliest building in the world in a poll of architects. [citation|title=American architects vote the Millennium Dome 'the biggest eyesore in the world'|publisher=The Independent|author=Chris Gray|date=Tuesday, 16 July 2002|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/american-architects-vote-the-millennium-dome-the-biggest-eyesore-in-the-world-648441.html]
* Wind farms - thought to be the worst eyesore by readers of Country Life but liked by others. [citation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3266673.stm|date=Friday, 21 November, 2003|title=What is the worst eyesore in the UK?|publisher=BBC]

ee also

* Aesthetics
* Brownfield site
* Local ordinances
* NIMBY
* Redevelopment
* Spite fence
* Town planning
* Ugliness
* Urban blight

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Eyesore — Eye sore , n. Something offensive to the eye or sight; a blemish. [1913 Webster] Mordecai was an eyesore to Haman. L Estrange. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • eyesore — something offensive to the eye, 1520s, from EYE (Cf. eye) + SORE (Cf. sore) (n.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • eyesore — [n] mess, ugliness atrocity, blemish, blight, blot, blot on landscape*, deformity, disfigurement, disgrace, distortion, dump, horror, monstrosity, sight, ugly thing; concepts 674,716 Ant. beauty, eyeful, sight …   New thesaurus

  • eyesore — ► NOUN ▪ a thing that is very ugly …   English terms dictionary

  • eyesore — [ī′sôr΄] n. [ME eie sor] a thing that is unpleasant to look at …   English World dictionary

  • eyesore — [[t]a͟ɪsɔː(r)[/t]] eyesores N COUNT: usu sing (disapproval) You describe a building or place as an eyesore when it is extremely ugly and you dislike it or disapprove of it. Poverty leads to slums, which are an eyesore and a health hazard …   English dictionary

  • eyesore — UK [ˈaɪˌsɔː(r)] / US [ˈaɪˌsɔr] noun [countable] Word forms eyesore : singular eyesore plural eyesores something that is ugly or unpleasant to look at, especially a building …   English dictionary

  • eyesore — noun Date: 1530 something offensive to view < the old factory has become an eyesore > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • eyesore — /uy sawr , uy sohr /, n. something unpleasant to look at: The run down house was an eyesore to the neighbors. [1250 1300; ME; see EYE, SORE] * * * …   Universalium

  • eyesore — noun a) A displeasing sight; something prominently ugly or unsightly. The building, towering over its surroundings with its square concrete frame and reflective walls of gold tinted glass, was an eyesore visible throughout the city. b) An eye… …   Wiktionary

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