What drives your local economy? Over the years I’ve put that question to scores of people whom I’ve interviewed for various articles. Depending on the area, the person typically responded by citing manufacturing, finance, agriculture, transportation or some other broad economic category. Always overlooked — absolutely always — is the construction industry. People simply don’t look at construction as an economic activity, although it most certainly is.
Buildings get viewed as simply means to an end, part of the infrastructure needed to conduct real economic activities inside. Worse, construction gets thought of as an expense rather than a hub of commerce. This of course diminishes the perceived value of everyone associated with the business of construction and its trades.