It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~Ernest Hemingway
Construction
Denver Pushes Projects to Fuel Economy
In an effort to revitalize the local economy, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has announced a plan to fast-track more than 200 construction projects in the city.
The Denver Post
Greening Cement
A growing number of local governments are turning to "green cement" resolutions to rectify North Texas' status as a shameless failure when it comes to complying with clean air standards.
The Dallas Observer
'Overbuilding Hangover' in Store for Atlanta
According to the Urban Land Institute, there is no need for Atlanta to continue building; currently, there is more than four times more construction going on than there is office spaced being used.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can 'Green' Cement Eliminate C02?
Cement production is notorious for generating large amounts of C02. Now a Stanford professor claims to have developed a new process that will eliminate the problem.
The San Francisco Chronicle
British Columbia Considers Carbon-Neutral Construction By 2020
In British Columbia, a proposal to require all new buildings to be carbon-neutral is being considered. The rule would require that buildings have no carbon footprint by 2020.
The Globe and Mail
China Using 10 Times More Cement Than Anyone Else
The Oil Drum charts recent figures released by the U.S. Geological Survey, which show a stunning growth in cement use (and therefore, presumably, building activity) in China as compared to world usage.
The Oil Drum
Did Corrupt Building Practices Contribute to China's Earthquake Disaster?
As rescue work continues in the aftermath of the earthquake in China's Sichuan province, many -- including the state-run media -- are asking questions about why so many buildings collapsed, and blame corruption and shoddy construction methods.
The Globe & Mail
Affordable Housing Versus Better Wages
Massachusetts wants to require affordable housing developers to pay construction workers a "prevailing wage", but with costs already totaling $200,000 or more per unit, the proposal may ultimately decrease the amount of affordable housing built.
The Boston Globe
The Challenge of Vertical Construction
A 17-story condominium tower in Boise, Idaho is being built on a 32-foot-wide footprint. Workers talk about the challenges of constructing such a skinny building.
The Idaho Statesman
In the Eye of Beijing's Boom
This article from National Geographic looks at the construction boom that is rapidly changing the face of Beijing.
National Geographic
Keeping Construction Projects From Blocking Sidewalks
One Philadelphia councilman wants his city to follow the lead of more pedestrian-friendly New York and ensure that construction projects don't interfere with sidewalks.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sleepless in Shanghai, #2
28 March 2007 - 7:24am
Two moments in this trip bring home the pace of change here. Sunday morning, 8am, I wake up in the Zhongshan Park section of west-central Shanghai. Head out into the backlanes of the superblock behind the hotel and construction on a high-rise gated apartment building is already at full tilt. Two other construction projects intitimate in my life... a dorm across from our apartment in Manhattan, and a restaurant next to the Institute in Palo Alto, are definitely not on the same aggressive shifts.
Next moment, Wednesday evening 11:18pm at our hotel in Pudong, I glance out the window before bed and see a line of cement mixers 10-12 deep waiting to unload at the construction site across the street.
