Our Top 10 Most Read Blog Posts of 2020 So Far

The year’s not even over yet, but given how intense 2020 has been, the past 8 months have seemed like years. This year has felt like it was ripped from the pages of a science fiction novel. In March, venturing out into the deserted streets was like Will Smith’s experience in I Am Legend. We never could have predicted this new world, which has put distance between us and changed all of our routines. Still, it hasn’t torn us apart: technology brought us closer together. It has enabled us to stay informed, to see each other on-screen, to enjoy art. Those of us here at Ferrovial weren’t about to skip sharing our posts, and we’ve been right beside you with inspiring, engaging stories. We invite you to take another look at our 10 most read articles so far this year. Keep learning, keep your spirits up, and find out more about stories here at Ferrovial and from around the world.

1. The pandemic caught the entire planet by surprise. We all watched in amazement as China built a 25,000 square meter, 1,000-bed hospital with the capacity for 1,400 doctors in the city of Wuhan in just 10 days. How did they do it? Marcos Martínez explains this feat in our blog post, Huoshenshan: How to Build a Hospital in Ten Days.
2. Just over a month later, it was Spain that was working against the clock to confront the pandemic by building the IFEMA field hospital. Ferrovial Services’ workers participated in setting up this facility. Along with hundreds of professionals, volunteers, and members of the Military Emergencies Unit (Unidad Militar de Emergencia, UME), as well as other organizations, they worked tirelessly to set up 5,500 beds that saved many lives at the most critical time. Marcos Martinez tells the whole story in The Field Hospital at Ifema: When We All Do Our Best.
3. They asked us to stay home, but not everyone could. Many professionals had to go out every day to care for others and ensure their safety. These included professionals at Ferrovial Services whose work was deemed essential. They expanded their shifts to meet the huge demand for ambulance services, medical emergencies, and home-based telehealth, on the one hand, and on the other, cleaning, disinfection, and maintenance for hospitals and health facilities. Fidel López Soria, CEO of the business, writes about this situation in Containing the Pandemic on the Front Lines.
4. Did you know that a cholera epidemic swept through London in 1854? In just seven days, the disease killed 10,000 people. John Snow charted a map of the neighborhood with the highest number of infections and discovered that the disease spread through the water wells from which residents drank. Snow is now popularly known as the father of modern epidemiology. Juan Samaniego tells the whole story in the post, John Snow’s Map, Which Changed the Way We Understand Epidemics. Now, Snow is also studied in Communications departments because of his contribution to creating the infographic.
5. The problem was in the water, an essential resource for life. Have you ever stopped to think about water? Do you know how many liters of water one person needs in one day? In Spain, the average household consumes 137 liters per inhabitant per day. Cristina Moral, Ferrovial’s Corporate Responsibility Manager, explains more in this post.
6. Speaking of opposites, our blog also invites you to the driest place in the world, the Atacama Desert. It is often likened to Mars on Earth due to its extreme weather conditions. It’s where Martian landscapes have been shot on film, including the renowned television series Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets. Edytesa, a Ferrovial company, has worked on a construction site there. Carlos Fuertes Kronberg, Head of Production at Ferrovial, tells us about his experience as an engineer in the Atacama Desert.
7. The Canary Islands have also seen the construction of the El Risco Agaete Highway. Over eight months, eight kilometers of roadway were built, including eight tunnels and two viaducts. The work required extensive experience and resilience from the Ferrovial team. Want to travel to Grand Canary Island to see this site? Learn more through Staying on Track: An Unmoveable Mountain vs. Our Tough Team by Eduardo Gutiérrez Bahillo, site manager at Ferrovial Construction.
8. Egeria didn’t need any maps for her travels. In 381, she set out to travel the world, guided only by the Roman roads. She left home on foot, crossing Europe in her trek from the ancient Roman province of Gallaecia to Jerusalem. Want to learn more about Egeria? Tania Alonso traces her journey in Egeria, the Woman Who Traveled Fourth-Century Roads to the East.
9. We can also find the origins of recycling in antiquity. Even Ancient Greece was concerned about sustainability and the environment. The first guidelines on waste management reached urban settlements like Athens some 2,400 years ago. Garbage was required to be buried at a distance of more than 1 km from inhabited areas. Learn how they did it with Manu Arenas in Recycling: It All Began When the Greeks Discovered Landfills.
10. Having looked at the past, what will the future look like? Do you think we’ll communicate in the same ways? The world is constantly changing, and the way we understand communication changes with it. Did you know that in the future, we will all speak different languages but be able to understand each other? Several companies are developing simultaneous applications for translation between languages. We’ll have more experiences, as well, but through the eyes – and screens – of others. If you want to find out more about the latest trends, read How Will We Communicate in the Future? by Jose García Guaita, Digital Communication Manager at Ferrovial.