The criticism of concrete as a symbol of real estate speculation is accurate but falls short. We point to the material while approving megaprojects that drive up housing costs and disintegrate neighborhoods. The problem is not cement, but a system where speculation is not a mistake but the main driver. Regulating land with price caps, taxing vacant homes, and prioritizing public construction of social housing are more effective steps than demonizing concrete without addressing the real causes of inequality.
Technology for urban control: sensors and data against speculation 🏙️
Technological development offers tools to manage land more equitably. Occupancy sensors, open data platforms on land prices, and vacant home monitoring systems allow administrations to apply price caps with precision. The use of blockchain to record real estate transactions reduces market opacity. These solutions do not depend on concrete, but on political will to implement algorithms that prioritize access to housing over speculative profitability.
Concrete: the scapegoat that never asks for a raise 🧱
Concrete has been the perfect villain: it doesn't complain, it has no union, and it always takes the blame. Meanwhile, megaprojects continue to be approved with the same naturalness with which a politician promises solutions. It is easier to blame cement than to recognize that speculation is the real business. At least concrete, when used well, serves to build houses. Speculators, on the other hand, only build excuses and impossible prices.