The next few months will see a pair of high profile implosions taking place.
On the face of it, Birmingham (the one in the UK) and the Caribbean appear to have very little in common. But in the coming months, they will be united by the force of high profile explosive demolitions.
On 8 May, a pair of student tower-blocks at Aston University are to be reduced to rubble to help clear the way for a £300 million campus regeneration project.
Dalton and Lawrence Towers are to be dropped to launch the key second phase of the scheme. A total of 1,500 students will be evacuated on the day but will be able to witness the demolition at close quarters from a big screen on the campus.
Then, just a few short weeks later, the Las Gladiolas public housing project will be razed this summer after more than a decade of legal wrangling by residents fighting their relocation from the crumbling apartment towers in the heart of Hato Rey.
Puerto Rico Housing Secretary Miguel Hernández Vivoni signed a notice to proceed Tuesday with the company contracted to demolish the four decrepit high-rises. The implosion of the 43-year-old complex is scheduled for July.
Read more on the Aston University story here, and on the Las Gladiolas project here.
