I’m back in the states for holidays but this time it was such a shock to realize everything looks so old, like from the airport to the convenience stores, malls, gas stations, etc. Why does everything look like it hasn’t changed from the 90s? And I was out just for a couple of months but things look newer and shinier in Panama and El Salvador compared to here. I cannot even imagine what some of you coming back from east Asia must feel. Did our country peak in the 90s and other countries are going through their renaissance? I love the convenience of the US where everything is open 24 hrs and you can get things delivered to your door basically overnight if you pay the price but I feel like we’re stuck with very old and boring infrastructure, makes me feel almost the same way I felt when I went to eastern Europe
The third world is catching up quickly, yes. And when building they have the advantages of green fields and generally cheaper labor. I just returned from Punta Cana and was really impressed by their new airport: wide floors covered with polished limestone, brightly lit, with plenty of art and seating and power outlets and conditioned air.
I returned to my home airport, which has also begun a multi-year refurbishment. It will be much nicer, eventually, but we’ll have to live with the dust during the refurbishment.
I think it has to do with the “surprise effect”. You go somewhere new, and see all these cool new places for the first time. Surprise! Then you come home to the boring things in which you’ve lived your whole life. It’s much more expensive to redevelop property in the US, but it does happen. Look at the new airport at LGA…stunning and innovative, and totally redeveloped in 6 years. Anything is possible with the right motivation and financial resources.
COVID and remote working have handed us a once-in-a-century chance to rebuild our downtown spaces and give them fresh, innovative updates. Make them spaces where people want to live and work and play. It will take time and hundreds of billions of dollars. But we have all the resources, we just need the ideas and the willpower.