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Hurricanes Michael, Florence leave serious recovery challenges

Michelle R. Matisons Waste Management & Environmental

In the weeks since Hurricanes Florence and Michael swept through the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, the Carolinas, and elsewhere, communities have started to assess damages and plan large-scale recovery efforts. This is difficult since both hurricanes have caused record levels of damage. The most recent Hurricane Michael death toll is at 45 people, while Florence caused 53 deaths. Overall damage reports are now available. Hurricane Michael caused $158 million in damaged crops, and the timber industry has endured $1.3 billion in damages.

Making housing more affordable

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

Historically, a robust housing industry has been a bellwether of a booming economy. At present, however, the economy is at its strongest point in 10 years, but the housing industry is limping along. Recent projections indicate annual home sales will fall below those of last year. A number of factors are contributing to this situation, but the major one is affordability. For many Americans who want to buy a home, the cost is just too high.

Report: US job losses to China grow, as does trade deficit

Seth Sandronsky Civil & Government

The U.S. trade deficit with China has reduced sharply employment stateside since 2001, according to "The China Toll Deepens," a new report from the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. The finding from the EPI’s Robert E. Scott and Zane Mokhiber "examines the job impacts of trade by subtracting the job opportunities lost to imports from those gained through exports." Their thesis is simple. The bilateral trade deficit in goods between the planet’s two biggest economies is the main cause of the U.S. employment losses that are concentrated in the American manufacturing sector.

London Gatwick plans expansion, 2nd runway utilization

Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & Automotive

The world’s busiest single-runway airport may have just found a way to utilize a second runway without actually building one. This comes as London Gatwick has published a new master plan to set growth in place over the coming decades. In its own words, Gatwick has unveiled an "ambitious vision for the future," which aims to plan for the long-term at a time when it has continually been snubbed by the U.K. government in favor of building a new runway at Heathrow.

Advertising and the city: Are billboards a threat to public space?

Lucy Wallwork Facilities & Grounds

Places like Times Square in New York and the Shibuya in Tokyo are home to some of the most iconic scenes of urban space on the planet. We cannot imagine them without their iconic billboards and digital displays, which have become part of their visual identity. But the spilling out of corporate advertising into increasing areas of our public space is being resisted. Advertisers argue that billboards can bring a number of benefits to a city, but some activists and reformers are pushing their local governments to make their neighborhoods ad-free.

Interior design activity regains momentum

Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

Adhering to a familiar seasonal pattern, demand for interior design services softened somewhat in late summer, then picked up in the last two months. Designers are reporting an increase in projects and new inquiries, with an average project backlog of around five weeks. Growth is expected to taper off slightly, but remain positive, toward the end of the year.

New plastics and composites impact design, engineering across the world…

Bill Becken Engineering

The productive versatility of modern manufacturing is evolving quickly — whether it comes to new processes or innovative plastics and composite materials. Of course, modern plastics and plastic-reinforced composites go back several decades in manufacturing. But, at least compared to legacy materials such as titanium, iron, steel and aluminum, these materials are still coming of age. Design and manufacturing engineers are only just now getting to know their latest iterations’ utility and the scope of their potential and promise.

Homeowners adding bedrooms, remodeling baths

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

In the previous two years, U.S. homeowners completed more than 43.7 million home improvement projects. That and other data related to recent home remodeling and renovation activity are part of the responses to the 2017 American Home Survey (AHS), released last month by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The findings include information on the most common types of projects, amount spent, use of professional services, and activity by age and income groups.

The $13 billion plan to rebuild New York’s JFK Airport

Matt Falcus Travel, Hospitality & Event Management

Seven years of construction work are slated to tackle the growing problems at New York’s JFK Airport in a plan announced by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Oct. 4 that will see two new terminals and a raft of changes to improve the experience for passengers. This is the next stage of the program to upgrade JFK, first announced in January 2017, when Cuomo promised that the airport was "next in line" following work starting on LaGuardia.

Study: Activity-based workplace design on the rise

Scott E. Rupp Facilities & Grounds

A recent survey of more 100 corporate real estate and facilities executives found that 70 percent of respondents said that they expect to incorporate "activity-based workplace design" into their businesses, and most of those interviewed also said they anticipate a reduction in square footage per employee. These are among some of the findings pointed out in a recent report by CBRE, "Managing Global Corporate Real Estate and Facilities."

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