Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has proposed major investments to retrofit older buildings to make them more resilient to earthquakes. The ambitious program would focus on some apartment buildings built before 1978 and concrete buildings constructed before 1976.
The plan also includes upgrading the city's water infrastructure. Garcetti said retrofits would cost billions of dollars, which would be borne by the public and private sectors.
The measures target pre-1978 apartment buildings with weak first floors, many of which were built over parking garages supported by narrow columns. Landlords would have to upgrade these structures within five years, costing an estimated $5,000 per unit.
Pre-1976 concrete buildings with columns and frame connectors that are brittle and can break during an earthquake would have to be upgraded within 25 years at an estimated cost of $10 to $15 a square foot. The proposal requires City Council approval.
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/09/us-usa-earthquake-california-idUSKBN0JN02D20141209)
Related Stories
| Jul 5, 2012
Roof membrane could have prevented roof parking deck collapse, specialist says
The collapse of a section of a roof parking deck at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake in Ontario, Canada could have been prevented if the structure had a membrane, according to a concrete expert and specialist in structure analysis at McMaster University.
| Jul 5, 2012
New Joplin, Mo. hospital being built to withstand tornado that destroyed predecessor
After the May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado destroyed St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., architects and engineers analyzed how the nine-story structure reacted to the storm.
| Jul 5, 2012
Continued tax breaks necessary for widespread adoption of net zero buildings
Tax breaks passed by the U.S. government to encourage construction of green buildings are set to expire in 2012 and 2013.
| Jun 28, 2012
Six buildings now recognized under Living Building Challenge
The Living Building Challenge (LBC), a green ratings system for design and construction that judges a building based on its actual performance, not just its projected performance at the design stage, has recognized six buildings to date.
| Jun 28, 2012
Label for building products will have ‘global warming number’
The director of the 2030 Challenge for Products says that the organization is aiming to place a label on building products that will list what’s in it, and how much embodied carbon each product represents.
| Jun 28, 2012
Top building material executive urges building resilience in sustainability standards
A meeting of 1,000 business executives at the recent Rio+20 environmental conference featured a passionate plea to include building resilience in efforts to boost sustainability.
| Jun 28, 2012
Following spate of skyscraper balcony glass panel breakages, Ontario adopts code change
Ontario's housing minister announced new building code rules to help prevent glass panels from breaking off high-rise balconies during hot weather.
| Jun 28, 2012
Factory worker deaths in Italy raise questions on building codes after earthquakes
Italian officials are questioning seismic building standards and inspection procedures in the aftermath of two damaging earthquakes.
