But skyscrapers and tall apartment buildings stand on concrete piles, concrete goes not only into foundations and basements but also into many walls and ceilings, and it is ubiquitous in all urban infrastructures—from buried engineering networks (large pipes, cable channels, sewers, subway foundations, tunnels) to aboveground transportation infrastructure (sidewalks, roads, bridges, shipping piers, airport runways). Modern cities—from São Paulo and Hong Kong (with their multistoried apartment towers) to Los Angeles and Beijing (with their extensive networks of freeways)—are embodiments of
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