This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.
If our cities density and economic strength were measured in tall skyscrapers, then we’d be failing.
“America’s share of the 100 tallest buildings will fall from 80 percent in 1990 to 18 percent by 2012.” (DJC, expensive registration required*)
So I ask: are we afraid to build tall buildings because of terror**? Is it our weak economy? Or is it thanks to businesses moving outside of cities thanks to sprawl?
* I haven’t even read the article, just the headline. I might have time to swing by the library to read it at lunch. If anyone wants to get me a DJC subscription, it would be my favorite xmas gift.
**I love to play the “afraid because of terror” card – will our grandchildren respect us like we respected the WWII generation? I doubt it.
I haven’t read the article, but most of those super-tall buildings like Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Burj Dubai are half empty. They’re build for reasons of pride and ego, not because the demand is necessarily there. It’s a way for small countries to show off.