For escape from high-rises, it's high tech to the rescue. An 'executive chute' is one of many innovations on the market. Some doubt if 'last-resort' systems work.
"Since 9/11 and the collapse of the World Trade Center, business executives, architects, engineers, and safety experts have worked to find safer ways to evacuate skyscrapers, focusing mostly on improving stairwells and elevators.
...In its final report on the collapse of the Twin Towers, expected this month, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is set to recommend an evaluation of "the full range of current and next generation evacuation technologies" including "exterior escape devices," says a NIST spokesman.
...Despite opposition from many building-safety experts, the "last-resort" escape systems are being taken more seriously as federal agencies and standards-setting bodies debate the issue."
FULL STORY: For escape from high-rises, it's high tech to the rescue
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions