5 Things to Be Thankful for in the Built Environment

5 Things to Be Thankful for in the Built Environment

by the BW CONTENT TEAM | Nov. 25, 2015

1. The new UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 - Issued in September, the 5 Ps (People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership) build on the ambitious UN Millennium Development Goals for 2015, which were largely and quietly achieved. Wait. What’s that? Actual good news about collective international action to do something right? Yup. Next up, the big Paris Climate Talks in December;

2. Hyperloop Competition - Whether it's just hype or heroic reality, it’s difficult not to love this intriguing Herculean race to develop a pneumatic commuting tube for humans (especially when it involves rivals named Bibop and Brogan Bambrogan!). Though Elon Musk and SpaceX are not directly involved, invited entrants are about to take place in a design competition at Texas A&M University in January with the selected pods competing at California’s SpaceX Hyperloop Test Track in mid-2016;

3. The AEC Hackathon - Like a band of merry men and women, the folks behind this nonprofit have been traveling around the world pushing the built environment forward and solving vexing industry problems, one weekend at a time. With nine hackathons last year, including Chicago’s first, and plans to expand to another country and an additional continent in 2016, we’re thankful that these talented tech “pirates” are working for the greater good and not just themselves;

4. Section 333 Exemption - Prior to 2015, the FAA had ruled our airspace almost entirely off-limits to drones, but in its continuing effort to safely expand and support commercial UAV usage, it has now granted over 1,000 companies the ability to operate. Taking it one step further, the agency also has begun to roll out the “Pathfinder Program” to a select group of businesses to allow them to travel beyond the line of sight, further unlocking the potential for the UAV industry in the built space;

Virtual grandma? Over the river and through the woods, it's really us. Mmm, just smell those pies!

5. All realities -  Augmented, Virtual, and actual. We’re extremely psyched about the possibilities of VR and AR impacting how we work and live, but on this Thanksgiving, we’re more excited to spend time with family and friends getting into and out of tryptophan-induced food comas.

Last but not least, of course, we are thankful for  you, our BW faithful. Thanks for helping to make this past year such a good one here. Much more to come. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!