Imagine building New York City in a month

I was stunned to read in Bill Gates book, “How to avoid a Climate Disaster”, that we will be doubling the number of buildings in the world, over the next 40 years.

The book itself is very readable and thankfully optimistic. I discovered that Bill Gates has a skill to make complex facts very understandable and visual. He explains that doubling the world’s buildings, is the equivalent to “building a New York City every month, for 40 years”.  Building the equivalent of “The Big Apple” every month, for 40 years - just think about that for a second...

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New York City was my home for 10 years, and I was in awe of its size, it’s infrastructure, buildings and amenities. I struggle to think of building the equivalent every month.  It’s quite incredible.

Many of these new buildings will be in what he calls developing countries, including China, India and Africa.  Of course, new buildings will be built everywhere on the planet. In addition, our existing buildings will be maintained, renovated, re-developed.  That is a huge amount of building activity.

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What will doubling the world’s buildings mean for humanity?

Certainly a better quality of life for more people - health, happiness, employment, economic benefit, longevity, and more. Certainly an impact on the planet - think concrete, glass, metal, wood, appliances, electricity, water, gas, heating, etc.

The world as we know it today will be very different in a short 40 years time.

As always, “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”.  The speed and scale of this growth will drive so much innovation - in building techniques, maintenance, manufacturing, materials and equipment.

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It’s such an exciting time to be participating in this space.