In the wake of multiple building collapses in recent years, the bill seeks to identify dangerous building conditions before they escalate.

A new city law will mandate ‘proactive’ building inspections in New York City, reports Nish Amarnath in Smart Cities Dive. “Int. 0904, the Billingsley Terrace Structural Integrity bill, requires the New York City Department of Buildings to create a risk-based inspection program that can identify dangerous buildings using a model to predict the likelihood of structural failures by assessing factors such as building data, violation history and any prior facade inspection reports.”
The bill aims to prevent building collapses and dangerous conditions in older buildings by identifying risks. “Bill Int. 0904 seeks to address deficiencies in the DOB’s complaints-driven, reactive inspection process — an issue that has surfaced in the city’s aging building stock and recent incidents, including the Billingsley Terrace collapse in the Bronx and the parking garage collapse in lower Manhattan, the city council said in the release.”
If signed by the mayor, the bill would require the DOB to develop a predictive model for the inspection program that would take into account a variety of building data including “qualified exterior wall inspector certification history, prior maintenance records, the number of 311 complaints filed, permit history, the date of the most recent alteration,” as well as building age, size, materials, floors, and more. Owners of buildings found deficient would have to submit a corrective action plan to make the building safe.
FULL STORY: NYC Council approves legislation requiring proactive building inspections

Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?

Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?

Research Shows More Roads = More Driving
A national study shows, once again, that increasing road supply induces additional vehicle travel, particularly over the long run.

Which US Rail Agencies Are Buying Zero-Emissions Trains?
U.S. rail agencies are slowly making the shift to zero-emissions trains, which can travel longer distances without refueling and reduce air pollution.

San Diego School District Approves Affordable Housing Plan
The district plans to build workforce housing for 10 percent of its employees in the next decade and explore other ways to contribute to housing development.

Lawsuit Aims to Stop NYC’s ‘City of Yes’ Zoning Reforms
A lawsuit brought by local lawmakers and community groups claims the plan failed to conduct a comprehensive environmental review.
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