Comment by alistairSH
7 months ago
Most of the building codes were written in blood - either that of the construction crew (in the case of site safety regulations) or that of the eventual owner (in the case of fire standards and suchlike). In both cases, long term costs should be reduced - lower insurance for developer and owner, less rebuilding burnt out shells, less earthquake damage, etc.
The regulations that weren't written in blood generally fall into the "zoning" discussion. Stuff like parking minimums, set-backs, etc.
The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that straddles the line is the requirement to have two staircases in low-rise apartment buildings. This is a uniquely (US)American code. Nominally to manage fire risk. But much of Europe and Canada manage with one staircase and improvements in building materials that reduce the risk of a fire starting before fast egress is necessary.
> Most of the building codes were written in blood
I don't know about most, but some were written to make certain types of cheap dwellings illegal because society didn't approve of the people living in them like single-room occupancy dwellings. They're perfectly safe, but lawmakers didn't like the poor people living in them.
Some are also out of date with other solves for the same problem, like NYC's rules around needing 2 staircases for buildings over a certain size. Pretty much everyone agrees its no longer necessary.