Building Codes Not the Problem in Haiti
I hear it repeated often in the news that the lack of building codes contributed to the massive death toll in Haiti. No doubt, the buildings were poorly constructed and did not have the wherewithal to withstand an earthquake of such magnitude. But the question really isn’t about the building codes. Can we honestly say that having a set of codes on the books would’ve been the impetus to build better buildings?
I contend that the true culprit here is economic, not regulatory. Put yourself in the shoes of someone building a house. “Safety,” as Dale Haywood says, “is an economic good.” When building, one has to carefully decide how to use the money available. A Haitian living in poverty has to very scrupulously determine how the building will be created. With very limited means, buildings will no doubt be less sound than someone with greater means. Keep in mind though that even the Presidential Palace succumbed to the quake.
If we were to rewind a year or five years into the past and write a code that requires Haitian buildings to meet the same requirements as, say, California’s statutes, do we believe that this would have avoided catastrophe? The answer is simply no. The average Haitian would not have the money to construct a home meeting California’s requirements. Ergo, there would be either more people living in fewer homes (which could not withstand the quake) or more people homeless (which would have had the same or worse results).
The question to ask is not whether building codes would have changed the outcome of the quake. It’s how to change the means by which Haitians build houses. Changing housing regulations seeks to limit Haiti’s citizens, while making them more economically free seeks to propel them. Expanding on projects like HOPE and HOPE II, giving Haitian’s tariff free access to the US, could further give Haitians the means to make themselves safer.
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