Construction Physics

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How Washington DC Got Its Metro
There have been two main periods of subway (or “metro”) building in the US. The first was during the late 19th century and early 20th century, when…
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Brian Potter
3
Contribute to the US Megaprojects Database!
The US Megaprojects Database Very large construction or technology development projects are sometimes called “megaprojects." By directing thousands of…
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Brian Potter
13
Why Do We Need Infrastructure Policy?
My title at IFP is "Senior Infrastructure Fellow," which means that in addition to publishing this newsletter, I do work related to infrastructure…
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Brian Potter
6
August 2023
How Fast Can a City Grow?
In the last post, we noted Los Angeles was the fastest-growing city in the US at the end of the 19th century, growing nearly 10% yearly between 1880 and…
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Brian Potter
13
How the Car Came to LA
Since at least the 1960s, urbanists have bemoaned the car-centric nature of US transportation. In her 1961 “The Death and Life of Great American…
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Brian Potter
15
The Worst US Bridges are Getting Fixed
It’s become a common assumption that US infrastructure is in a poor state of repair; that our roads, bridges, pipes, and transmission lines are decaying…
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Brian Potter
12
July 2023
We Need More Research on how CO2 Affects Cognition
A growing body of research indicates there are potentially large health benefits to improving indoor air quality. Indoor spaces are often poorly…
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Brian Potter
8
The Rise and Fall of the Mail-Order Home
In the early 20th century, a new business model appeared: the mail-order home. Companies would mail out catalogs containing several dozen different home…
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Brian Potter
11
The Story of Titanium
The earth contains a lot of titanium - it’s the ninth most abundant element in the earth’s crust. By mass, there’s more titanium in the earth’s crust…
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Brian Potter
18
June 2023
The Grid, Part IV: The Hard and Soft Paths of Energy Strategy
Today, the electrical grid has over 500,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and more than 5 million miles of lower voltage distribution lines…
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Brian Potter
14
The Grid, Part III: The Dream of Deregulation
For most of the industry’s history, electric power in the US had largely been provided by vertically integrated utility companies that handled every…
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Brian Potter
14
The Grid, Part II: The Golden Age of the Power Industry
Welcome to Part II of our history of the electric power industry. For Part I, see here. By 1930, the US was using 114 billion kilowatt-hours of…
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Brian Potter
14
© 2023 Brian Potter
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