Download or read book Building the Skyline written by Jason M. Barr and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-12 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Manhattan skyline is one of the great wonders of the modern world. But how and why did it form? Much has been written about the city's architecture and its general history, but little work has explored the economic forces that created the skyline. In Building the Skyline, Jason Barr chronicles the economic history of the Manhattan skyline. In the process, he debunks some widely held misconceptions about the city's history. Starting with Manhattan's natural and geological history, Barr moves on to how these formations influenced early land use and the development of neighborhoods, including the dense tenement neighborhoods of Five Points and the Lower East Side, and how these early decisions eventually impacted the location of skyscrapers built during the Skyscraper Revolution at the end of the 19th century. Barr then explores the economic history of skyscrapers and the skyline, investigating the reasons for their heights, frequencies, locations, and shapes. He discusses why skyscrapers emerged downtown and why they appeared three miles to the north in midtown-but not in between the two areas. Contrary to popular belief, this was not due to the depths of Manhattan's bedrock, nor the presence of Grand Central Station. Rather, midtown's emergence was a response to the economic and demographic forces that were taking place north of 14th Street after the Civil War. Building the Skyline also presents the first rigorous investigation of the causes of the building boom during the Roaring Twenties. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the boom was largely a rational response to the economic growth of the nation and city. The last chapter investigates the value of Manhattan Island and the relationship between skyscrapers and land prices. Finally, an Epilogue offers policy recommendations for a resilient and robust future skyline.

Download or read book The Building Economist written by and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 622 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Economics of Construction written by Stephen L. Gruneberg and published by Economics of Big Business. This book was released on 2019 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The construction of housing, commercial property, and infrastructure projects--roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, airports--for both the private and public sectors is one of the biggest industries in the world. It contributes around 10 per cent of world GDP, employs 7 per cent of the global workforce, and consumes around 20 per cent of the world's energy (and generates a third of the world's CO2 emissions). So important is the contruction industry that it is widely seen as the best indicator of a national economy's health. Stephen Gruneberg and Noble Francis, two of the UK's leading construction economists, present an up-to-date analysis of the construction industry's business model and the risks and challenges the industry faces in the twenty-first century. The book explores the many distinctive features of the economics of the industry, such as how firms use cost-reduction rather than profit maximizing behavior, the processes of tendering and procurement, and the often cyclical nature of demand. Some of the issues touched on include the nature of the government-client relationship, the difference between commissioned and speculative construction development, operating as well as building infrastructure, the advantages of off-site construction, the demand for green and sustainable construction, and the competition from government-backed Chinese companies in major infrastructure projects. As well as examining industry-wide issues, the book looks at how individual projects are costed. These can range from the construction of Dubai's Yas Island or Heathrow's third runway, to the construction of a local hospital, or a residential housing estate. Finance, cash flow, cost overruns, and labor relations are all shown to be fundamental to completing a project on time and within budget, regardless of size. The book offers authoritative analysis and expert insight to provide a survey suitable for students in both business schools and departments of architecture and the built environment.

Download or read book Building Economics Theory and Practice written by Rosalie Ruegg and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We no longer build buildings like we used to nor do we pay for them in the same way. Buildings today are no longer only shelter but are also life support systems, communication terminals, data manufacturing centers, and much more. Buildings are incredibly expensive tools that must be constantly adjusted to function efficiently. The economics of building has become as complex as its design. When buildings were shelter they lasted longer than their builders. The av erage gothic master mason lived 35 or 40 years. Cathedrals took 3 or 4 hundred years to build. Cost estimates were verified by great great grandchildren of the original designer. Today, creative economics has become as important as creative design and creative building. The dient brings builder, contractor, architect, and facilities manager to account in their life time. The cost of building can therefore no longer be left to chance or act of god. Solutions are no longer as ingeniously simple as those proposed by a Flor entine builder early in the 15th century. He proposed to center the dome of S. Maria deI Fiore on a great mound of earth mixed with pennies. When the job was done street urchins would carry away the dirt in their search for the pennies. This was a serious suggestion offered by an early construction manager before Brunelleschi solved the problem more sensibly.

Download or read book Building Economics written by Ivor H. Seeley and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 1996-11-11 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensively rewritten, updated and extended new edition of this established text focuses on what has become the most important single facet of the quantity surveyor's role - cost management. The scope of the book has been broadened to take account of the widening and more sophisticated cost management and control service that clients now require. The book examines the factors influencing building costs and how the precontract costs can be estimated, analysed and controlled, to ensure that buildings can be completed within the agreed budget and timescale, and be of acceptable quality, function effectively and provide value for money. A new chapter on value management has been added, together with an introductory chapter on cost modelling; the chapter on life cycling costing is extended, while the sections on energy conservation and occupancy costs are expanded. Throughout the text many new case studies, with supporting tables and diagrams, are included in order to enhance the value of this book to the student and the practitioner.

Download or read book The Economist s View of the World written by Steven E. Rhoads and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1985-05-23 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains and assesses the ways in which micro, welfare and benefit-cost economists view the world of public policy. In general terms, microeconomic concepts and models can be seen to appear regularly in the work of political scientists, sociologists and psychologists. As a consequence, these and related concepts and models have now had sufficient time to influence strongly and to extend the range of policy options available to government departments. The central focus of this book is the 'cross-over' from economic modelling to policy implementation, which remains obscure and uncertain. The author outlines the importance of a wider knowledge of microeconomics for improving the effects and orientation of public policy. He also provides a critique of some basic economic assumptions, notably the 'consumer sovereignty principle'. Within this context the reader is in a better position to understand the 'marvellous insights and troubling blindnesses' of economists where often what is controversial politically is not so controversial among economists.

Download or read book Thinking Like an Economist written by Elizabeth Popp Berman and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2023-08-08 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of how economic reasoning came to dominate Washington between the 1960s and 1980s—and why it continues to constrain progressive ambitions today For decades, Democratic politicians have frustrated progressives by tinkering around the margins of policy while shying away from truly ambitious change. What happened to bold political vision on the left, and what shrunk the very horizons of possibility? In Thinking like an Economist, Elizabeth Popp Berman tells the story of how a distinctive way of thinking—an “economic style of reasoning”—became dominant in Washington between the 1960s and the 1980s and how it continues to dramatically narrow debates over public policy today. Introduced by liberal technocrats who hoped to improve government, this way of thinking was grounded in economics but also transformed law and policy. At its core was an economic understanding of efficiency, and its advocates often found themselves allied with Republicans and in conflict with liberal Democrats who argued for rights, equality, and limits on corporate power. By the Carter administration, economic reasoning had spread throughout government policy and laws affecting poverty, healthcare, antitrust, transportation, and the environment. Fearing waste and overspending, liberals reined in their ambitions for decades to come, even as Reagan and his Republican successors argued for economic efficiency only when it helped their own goals. A compelling account that illuminates what brought American politics to its current state, Thinking like an Economist also offers critical lessons for the future. With the political left resurgent today, Democrats seem poised to break with the past—but doing so will require abandoning the shibboleth of economic efficiency and successfully advocating new ways of thinking about policy.

Download or read book The Armchair Economist written by Steven E. Landsburg and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-05-10 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Air bags cause accidents, because well-protected drivers take more risks. This well-documented truth comes as a surprise to most people, but not to economists, who have learned to take seriously the proposition that people respond to incentives. In The Armchair Economist, Steven E. Landsburg shows how the laws of economics reveal themselves in everyday experience and illuminate the entire range of human behavior. Why does popcorn cost so much at the cinema? The 'obvious' answer is that the owner has a monopoly, but if that were the whole story, there would also be a monopoly price to use the toilet. When a sudden frost destroys much of the Florida orange crop and prices skyrocket, journalists point to the 'obvious' exercise of monopoly power. Economists see just the opposite: If growers had monopoly power, they'd have raised prices before the frost. Why don't concert promoters raise ticket prices even when they are sure they will sell out months in advance? Why are some goods sold at auction and others at pre-announced prices? Why do boxes at the football sell out before the standard seats do? Why are bank buildings fancier than supermarkets? Why do corporations confer huge pensions on failed executives? Why don't firms require workers to buy their jobs? Landsburg explains why the obvious answers are wrong, reveals better answers, and illuminates the fundamental laws of human behavior along the way. This is a book of surprises: a guided tour of the familiar, filtered through a decidedly unfamiliar lens. This is economics for the sheer intellectual joy of it.

Download or read book The Economics of Building written by Robert E. Johnson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 1991-01-16 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Both an introduction to economic principles as they relate to building design and a practical guide to putting these principles to effective use. It brings together a variety of specialized topics relevant to building economics, including cost estimating, life cycle costing, cost indexes, capital budgeting, decision analysis, and real estate feasibility analysis. Develops these concepts within the framework of an integrated approach to design and management decision-making, simplifying where appropriate, but never at the expense of intellectual content. Incorporating a number of sample spreadsheet models, The Economics of Building is a practical resource and guide to the financial assessment of planning, design, and management decisions about buildings.

Download or read book The Construction Industry written by George Ofori and published by NUS Press. This book was released on 1990 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This basic text offers a comprehensive and fundamental description of the construction industry and the construction process, citing examples from several countries at various stages of development. It considers the features of the industry, describes factors influencing the demand for, and supply of construction, problems facing the industry and ways of planning for and managing its development.The book should be a basic source of information on the construction industry for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in architecture, construction management, quantity surveying, related engineering fields and estate management. It should also be of relevance to administrators of the construction industry.

Download or read book Economics in One Lesson written by Henry Hazlitt and published by Crown Currency. This book was released on 2010-08-11 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With over a million copies sold, Economics in One Lesson is an essential guide to the basics of economic theory. A fundamental influence on modern libertarianism, Hazlitt defends capitalism and the free market from economic myths that persist to this day. Considered among the leading economic thinkers of the “Austrian School,” which includes Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich (F.A.) Hayek, and others, Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993), was a libertarian philosopher, an economist, and a journalist. He was the founding vice-president of the Foundation for Economic Education and an early editor of The Freeman magazine, an influential libertarian publication. Hazlitt wrote Economics in One Lesson, his seminal work, in 1946. Concise and instructive, it is also deceptively prescient and far-reaching in its efforts to dissemble economic fallacies that are so prevalent they have almost become a new orthodoxy. Economic commentators across the political spectrum have credited Hazlitt with foreseeing the collapse of the global economy which occurred more than 50 years after the initial publication of Economics in One Lesson. Hazlitt’s focus on non-governmental solutions, strong — and strongly reasoned — anti-deficit position, and general emphasis on free markets, economic liberty of individuals, and the dangers of government intervention make Economics in One Lesson every bit as relevant and valuable today as it has been since publication.

Download or read book Construction Economics written by Danny Myers and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Students across a wide range of disciplines, ranging from construction management and construction engineering through to architecture, property and surveying should find this an invaluable textbook.

Download or read book Skyscraper written by Dan Cruickshank and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-06-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chicago's beautiful Reliance Building, sixteen storeys tall, was designed in 1890 by John Root and completed in 1895 by Charles B. Atwood. In its construction – metal frame, large areas of plate glass, fire-proof brick and terracotta cladding – it pioneers all the key elements of twentieth-century high-rise architecture, and many of the tenets of Modernism. Cruickshank reflects on the extraordinary architectural, artistic and engineering world of the 1890s and its great figures such as Daniel H. Burnham, Louis Sullivan and William Le Baron Jenney. He looks forward to the Reliance building's immediate progeny, such as the 1902 Flatiron Building in New York and to the hubristic high-rise architecture of the twenty-first century. This is also the story of Gilded Age Chicago, which was burned to the ground in 1871. The city – corrupt, violent and fabulously wealthy – was ready to try anything, even revolutionary forms of architecture.

Download or read book Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing written by Josh Ryan-Collins and published by Zed Books Ltd.. This book was released on 2017-02-28 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why are house prices in many advanced economies rising faster than incomes? Why isn’t land and location taught or seen as important in modern economics? What is the relationship between the financial system and land? In this accessible but provocative guide to the economics of land and housing, the authors reveal how many of the key challenges facing modern economies - including housing crises, financial instability and growing inequalities - are intimately tied to the land economy. Looking at the ways in which discussions of land have been routinely excluded from both housing policy and economic theory, the authors show that in order to tackle these increasingly pressing issues a major rethink by both politicians and economists is required.

Download or read book Building the New American Economy written by Jeffrey D. Sachs and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The influential economist offers a persuasive strategy for a more just and sustainable economy—with a forward by Bernie Sanders. The New York Times has said that Jeffrey D. Sachs is “probably the most important economist in the world.” Now, in a book that combines impassioned manifesto with a plan of action, Sachs charts a path to move America toward sustainable development. Sustainable development is a holistic approach to public policy that unifies economic, social, and environmental objectives. By focusing too much on short-term economic growth, the United States has neglected rising inequality and dire environmental threats—all while putting our long-term economic growth at risk. Sachs explores issues that have captivated national discourse, including infrastructure, trade deals, energy policy, the proper size and role of government, the national debt, and income inequality. In accessible language, he illuminates the forces at work in each case and presents specific policy solutions. His argument rises above the stagnation of partisanship to envision a brighter way forward both individually and collectively. “Sachs demonstrates expertise on vastly different policy fields and makes a convincing case that abdicating the toxic intersection of militarism and exceptionalism is key to building a brighter future.”—Global Policy Journal

Download or read book Sky Boys How They Built the Empire State Building written by Deborah Hopkinson and published by Schwartz & Wade. This book was released on 2012-11-28 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book and ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book provides a riveting brick-by-brick account of how one of the most amazing accomplishments in American architecture came to be. It’s 1930 and times are tough for Pop and his son. But look! On the corner of 34th Street and 5th Avenue, a building straight and simple as a pencil is being built in record time. Hundreds of men are leveling, shoveling, hauling. They’re hoisting 60,000 tons of steal, stacking 10 million bricks, eating lunch in the clouds. And when they cut ribbon and the crowds rush in, the boy and his father will be among the first to zoom up to the top of the tallest building in the world and see all of Manhattan spread at their feet.

Download or read book Doughnut Economics written by Kate Raworth and published by Chelsea Green Publishing. This book was released on 2018-03-08 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economics is the mother tongue of public policy. It dominates our decision-making for the future, guides multi-billion-dollar investments, and shapes our responses to climate change, inequality, and other environmental and social challenges that define our times. Pity then, or more like disaster, that its fundamental ideas are centuries out of date yet are still taught in college courses worldwide and still used to address critical issues in government and business alike. That’s why it is time, says renegade economist Kate Raworth, to revise our economic thinking for the 21st century. In Doughnut Economics, she sets out seven key ways to fundamentally reframe our understanding of what economics is and does. Along the way, she points out how we can break our addiction to growth; redesign money, finance, and business to be in service to people; and create economies that are regenerative and distributive by design. Named after the now-iconic “doughnut” image that Raworth first drew to depict a sweet spot of human prosperity (an image that appealed to the Occupy Movement, the United Nations, eco-activists, and business leaders alike), Doughnut Economics offers a radically new compass for guiding global development, government policy, and corporate strategy, and sets new standards for what economic success looks like. Raworth handpicks the best emergent ideas—from ecological, behavioral, feminist, and institutional economics to complexity thinking and Earth-systems science—to address this question: How can we turn economies that need to grow, whether or not they make us thrive, into economies that make us thrive, whether or not they grow? Simple, playful, and eloquent, Doughnut Economics offers game-changing analysis and inspiration for a new generation of economic thinkers.