Uploaded on 2015-05-06 by chrisjongkind

Attached is a (lousy) photograph I've taken in Hong Kong, China. The scaffolding here and all over Hong Kong and China is made of bamboo - this is a domestic product (mentioned in the week's coursework for its strength) so needn't be imported for use. However, there is quite a lot of scaffolding all over big cities in China, implying that construction is booming (which it is) - while the scaffolding itself may be domestic and therefore more sustainable, entire projects will need material from both local and global sources. The strength of bamboo is a great selling point, and China does export it for this very use, and China also has its own steel and cement markets, but, it does need to import quite a lot of knowledge for more sustainable construction. Bamboo is certainly in use in other areas where it is an indigenous plant (ie. Africa as well), but hasn't caught on very well in Europe or North America. ![hong kong - chris jongkind][1] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14308884606916195.jpg