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by climatologist 1081 days ago
The reality is more complicated than it appears but I've observed a bunch of construction projects near Millbrae CalTrain station and they finish the buildings extremely fast. A bunch of metal frames go up, then some pipes, then some wires, and then some concrete walls.

The project planning and construction is done by a single company, Truebeck Construction, and they seem to know what they're doing.

I don't know what Patrick's list is trying to illustrate but most construction projects in the US happen very fast.
1 comments
systemvoltage 1081 days ago
This is not a widespread opinion or pattern as I see it. This is first time I am hearing from someone that we in America "build things fast".

I suggest reading Eli Dourado's blog: https://www.elidourado.com/

and his many blog posts on HN: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

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climatologist 1081 days ago
Just speaking from personal experience. The methods that I observed are very modern and very efficient. The parts for the entire building are pre-fabricated and then assembled at the construction site. So the stagnation narrative is more than likely overblown and the folks that think things are slower now should visit some of those Truebeck construction sites and observe for themselves.
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systemvoltage 1081 days ago
I don't think so at all and the evidence points to a profound stagnation in our ability to build. So, if we can't even admit that we're terrible at building fast, there is very little hope. Step No. 1 is admission and introspection:

https://www.fullstackeconomics.com/p/why-america-cant-build-...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/us/california-high-speed-...

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/05/opinion/economy-construct...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/opinion/manufacturing-uni...

https://www.palladiummag.com/2022/06/09/why-america-cant-bui...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/infrastructure-us-costly-explai...

https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/19/why-cant-we-build-anything...

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climatologist 1081 days ago
Have you personally seen those construction sites? Just go and observe, the stagnation narrative is overblown.
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