Safety codes recommended by NIST after analyzing the collapse of the World Trade Center are being challenged by another federal agency on the grounds they will be too costly.
"A federal agency has joined some of the nation's biggest landlords in trying to repeal stronger safety requirements for new skyscrapers that were added to the country's most widely used building code last year, arguing that they would be too expensive to meet.
The new provisions, which include requiring tall office buildings to have more robust fireproofing and an extra emergency stairwell, were enacted as a result of an exhaustive federal study into the collapse of the twin towers at the World Trade Center seven years ago this week.
The General Services Administration, which serves as the federal government's property manager, is now opposing the tougher standards, even though they were based on a report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which issues recommendations for safety standards after investigating fires and other building catastrophes.
The matter will go to a vote next week at a meeting of the code council in Minneapolis, where more than 1,000 building-code officials from around the nation will gather to adopt the 2009 version of the so-called model code, which serves as a template for 20,000 jurisdictions in all 50 states, including skyscraper cities like New York, Houston and Philadelphia."
FULL STORY: Agency Fights Building Code Born of 9/11

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.

Congestion Pricing Drops Holland Tunnel Delays by 65 Percent
New York City’s contentious tolling program has yielded improved traffic and roughly $100 million in revenue for the MTA.
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