What Will Obama Build?
Saturday November 15, 2008
Home construction has taken a tail spin, but some architecture enthusiasts see a glimmer of hope. US President-elect Barack Obama is proposing a new office of urban policy that would work on infrastructure, affordable housing, and sustainable development, among other issues. And if that isn't encouragement enough, optimists point to this: Long before he entered politics, Obama dreamed of being an architect.
More about Obama's plans:
- Obama, architect manqué in Building Design
- Obama forming an office of urban policy: will architects be at the table? in the Chicago Tribune
- Barack Obama Official Statement (PDF file)
Comments
I think that one infrastructure project that President Obama should consider is the Trans-Global Highway, proposed by Frank X. Didik a number of years ago. According to Didik, the proposed “highway”, which would contain roads, rail roads, water, oil and gas pipes as well electric and communication cables. The highway would use and standardize the existing road networks and build new roads as well as a number of key tunnels. Interestingly, the longest Tunnel in the proposal, would still be shorter than the longest existing tunnel today. It would seem that there are many advantages to the construction of the Trans Global Highway including vastly lower cost and faster shipping, better allocation of resources, the ability of utilizing raw materials and much lower carbon emissions, than the existing transportation system. The highway would open up a new era of international cooperation. The Trans-Global Highway site is located at http://www.TransGlobalHighway.com