yeah you’re right, one of the reason why a lot of houses in the US today are built rather thin and lightweight (think wooden structures, cardboard-thin walls) is because it is not clear whether the houses would even want to be inhabited in 100 years. not just because of technological change, but also because there could be population declines. not only is the total birthrate in the US today declining rapidly and far below replacement levels, which will lead to a declining population number in the future, but there is also a lot of migration within the US. think for example of all the towns in the rust belt, where economy used to be very active in the 1900 while now it’s essentially a dead area. the production and industry has shifted to the coastlines, and it might continue to shift, so building a house today that lasts for centuries, if people stop being interested in living there in 50 years, might not be wise.
yeah you’re right, one of the reason why a lot of houses in the US today are built rather thin and lightweight (think wooden structures, cardboard-thin walls) is because it is not clear whether the houses would even want to be inhabited in 100 years. not just because of technological change, but also because there could be population declines. not only is the total birthrate in the US today declining rapidly and far below replacement levels, which will lead to a declining population number in the future, but there is also a lot of migration within the US. think for example of all the towns in the rust belt, where economy used to be very active in the 1900 while now it’s essentially a dead area. the production and industry has shifted to the coastlines, and it might continue to shift, so building a house today that lasts for centuries, if people stop being interested in living there in 50 years, might not be wise.