Behind the City Lights: What I Learned from Watching a Hotel Rise
Stories of hard work and overlooked contributions
Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in big cities knows just how magnificent the buildings there can be. Towering skyscrapers with strong infrastructures stand as the imaginative creations of mankind.
The Backbone of Urban Life
These tall, sturdy buildings have spread across cities, turning into gathering spots for people. Inside those grand structures, people meet, hold discussions, make decisions, and build their lives and families. These buildings have names like apartments, hotels, offices, malls, cafes, and restaurants.
But have we ever really thought about how these buildings came to be? Of course, such grand and sturdy structures don’t just appear out of nowhere.
Last weekend, while I was in the city center, I saw several buildings being torn down by a group of men dressed in worn-out clothes and yellow helmets. They were construction workers, often referred to in administrative terms as laborers.
A sign in front of the site read, “Under construction: Five-Star Hotel.” I could see several other buildings being demolished in the area to make way for this new luxury hotel.
