Constructing buildings at unbelievable speeds has been the trademark of 21st-century construction. A worrisome trend that has been going on since the transition or turn of the century is the massive deforestation and conversion of forest land into agricultural, industrial, and urban zones. For the sake of development, 14.2 million hectares of forest land were converted into urban, industrial, and agricultural land from 1982 to 2003.
It is good that a lot of companies are profiting and providing a living for millions of Americans in the United States. However, it may come a little too late for us to take a step back and realize what we have done. There are a lot of drawbacks to the hasty development we have incorporated into ourselves as a species. Sadly, we don’t care anymore.
We have the technology to thank for this mad rush to expansion. While before, it takes a little while to build fast, scientific effort to better the construction techniques has been space-age-like. What took a couple of years to build can now be built in less than half a year.
In China, two billion square meters of floor space are being built annually. Unfortunately, the speed of construction has impacted the real estate industry in China. While real estate is reaping the rewards of fast construction and matching population growth, some predict that it is a bubble that will eventually burst. The speed of construction is not balancing out the number of people willing to buy condominium units in China.
If not enough people begin to occupy these constructs en masse, the Chinese economy (and the world economy, as a consequence) might collapse. The aggressive expansion of greedy capitalists is eventually going to cost the entire world economy to go down.
Sadly, both climate change and economic collapse are possible outcomes of the mad rush of investors to expand city limits. What are the steps we should take to prevent the symptoms of these problems from coming to fruition?
Streamlined Manufacturing
The first solution the real estate industry is implementing is streamlining manufacturing. Manufacturing of construction materials, such as cement, coated steel beams, and glass, to name a few, is one of the biggest contributors to carbon footprints in the world. The different methods used in keeping pollution low during manufacturing are driving the pollutant output high.
By streamlining the manufacturing process and standardizing clean output levels, we reduce the pollutant byproducts of the process. Also, reducing the amount of on-site construction will reduce the amount of pollution we produce in the area. By opting for pre-cast concrete barriers instead of building the fences on-site, we reduce the pollution byproduct in the area.
Ecological Alternatives
Opting for ecological design alternatives in constructing buildings will help reduce the negative effects of aggressive human settlement expansion. Whenever we construct buildings for humans, we must not forget that we are also destroying the natural habitats of both flora and fauna in the area. Endemic animals and plants are the first victims of man’s greed and need to utilize all the land they have appropriated.
By opting for ecological alternatives and integrating nature in the conversation, we can slowly stop the destruction of nature. Opting for ecological alternatives is also wise against economic collapse. Most ecological alternatives in construction also offer maximized use of space by integrating an indoor garden or space for various flora to grow.
Ecological alternative real estate will retain its high value even after a burst in the real estate bubble. Its unique designs will catapult its value to a better level than regular real estate.
Legislative Protections
Lastly, there is no stopping the mad rush to building fast unless we implement legislative protections and regulations against it. In a capitalist society, money dictates every single step. There is no other way to stop the aggressive expansion of man unless our leaders say it is so.
Legislative protections for our beloved forests, lakes, and other natural bodies of land and water are key to prevent human abuse. We must remember that our lives are greatly intertwined with nature. What we do to it will eventually haunt us back. There are a lot of signs pointing to the human civilization’s collapse as a consequence of the destruction of nature.
Climate change is slowly changing the way we conduct business and go about our daily lives. Instituting legislative protections from the top is the most concrete way we can stop the destruction of the environment and slow down the incessant greed of man.
With these ideas, one can understand how expansion and more constructions affect the environment. Measures must be taken to address and prevent the issues that these can cause.
