The boom in construction is unprecedented. Humans have built so much that the mass of our built environment probably weighs more than all the living things on the planet. From Forests to livestock and even us, the buildings we have created are now more massive.

Life on Earth has been building for billions of years, humans far less so, in a book by David Farrier about how cities will fossilise he notes that just 300 years ago just one location on Earth was home to more than a million people. Edo in Japan, now there are over 500 cities greater than a million with Tokyo now at an incredible 37 million. 

It is hard to get your head around a city that is two thirds the size of South Africa by population. Johannesburg takes up about 1600 sq km, Tokyo is 2200 sq km but is home to 35 million more people than Joburg. 

While Japan remains one of the most built up nations on the planet, the progression is that all countries at some point head down the path to urbanise, densify and increase their big infrastructure projects. 

Since World War II according to Farrier, we have cast enough concrete to pave the entire planet, land and sea. 

Photo by Edward He on Unsplash