When the Knights of St John landed in Malta on October 30, 1530, the combined islands’ population was about 24,000 people. The population ion Malta today approaches 400,000; Gozo’s at least 34,000.

Our islands, but especially Malta, are clearly overpopulated, similar to Hong Kong and Singapore. And we have no mainland to connect with and expand to, like Hong Kong. We live on islands of limited extents. Not much land. More sea. Not shallow sea like Holland’s and Belgium’s but a deep Mediterranean.

Until our population was in the region of 350,000, we could enjoy building and living in two-storey houses mostly. With the recently-burgeoning population, former environment minister George Pullicino was faced with a difficult decision.

Either to expand our built-up area into our dwindling countryside or to expand upwards. Hence, two-storey sites would be turned into five- or seven-storey buildings. A dramatic decision. Changing our towns’ landscapes forever. Only Valletta barely escaped this new phenomenon of overbuilding because it had already been overbuilt in time.

We now have overdevelopment and overcrowding of an already developed and crowded island. The same for Gozo though to a lesser extent. Is there a solution to this continuing development and overcrowding of our townscapes?

Are we going to accept buildings of up to 25 and 40 floors, changing our townscapes even further? Post-war Malta is now gone forever.

We are on the brink of creating a new Malta, still more overcrowded and claustrophobic.

Our modern roads cannot bear the increased traffic, a sign of material progress but also of environmental degradation and the rat race.

Will the number of cars, vans, trucks or lorries and cranes keep growing? Haven’t we already reached our breaking point?

We have to face our overpopulation, overdevelopment and overcrowding with a huge debate and conference, or convention, of national proportions.