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Are you suggesting tall buildings shouldn't exist in the world? Because if every building was only one story, it would mean the total destruction of the natural environment, mass starvation, inaccessible basic services, etc.
The answer is stricter fire codes and better enforcement of regulations intended to prevent something like this from happening. It's not allowing developers or property managers to cut corners so they can save a buck. You'd be hard-pressed to find any residential or commercial high-rise building that meets currently accepted fire-safety building standards that has burned down. Sure, it's not technically impossible, but it's very unlikely - much more unlikely in fact than a new single-family home burning down.
As for earthquakes, all new buildings in earthquake-prone areas are required to be resilient to major seismic activity. In places like Seattle, older buildings - particularly those made of brick - are at the greatest risk. These tend not to be the tallest or densest buildings by any stretch but those that have not been retrofitted do pose a very scary threat in case of a big earthquake.
People die in fires from wood-framed houses yet they're not banned. Building codes + smoke alarms alleviate much of the danger. A high rise can be designed so that the fire spreads slowly and containable, and that it's easy to evacuated. High rise fires resulting in more than a few deaths aren't particularly frequent, considering how many high rises exist around the world.
I didn't suggest banning high rises. But very tall buildings do seem to be "unavoidably unsafe".
They don't seem especially so. Houses have fires, too.
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Regardless of what you said about Vancouver, they are kidding themselves if they think it can't happen there.
New York City is at least as high-rise heavy as Vancouver, hasn't had a major high-rise [well with one well known non-accidental exception] fire in decades. The city does require sprinklers among other things. I assume Vancouver does, too. I've been in a mid-rise college dorm, it had those, too:
In a blackout, anything past the 4th floor is a challenge. The rising cost and decreasing availability of electricity will price taller buildings out of existence, if they don't fall down first.
They don't seem especially so. Houses have fires, too.
New York City is at least as high-rise heavy as Vancouver, hasn't had a major high-rise [well with one well known non-accidental exception] fire in decades. The city does require sprinklers among other things. I assume Vancouver does, too. I've been in a mid-rise college dorm, it had those, too:
In a blackout, anything past the 4th floor is a challenge. The rising cost and decreasing availability of electricity will price taller buildings out of existence, if they don't fall down first.
Good username, because electricity costs are reasonably flat, there's no decreasing availability, and taller buildings aren't really falling down.
I went to a child abuse training at my church. We had to watch a video where the presenter said that every church that had a problem thought they would never have a problem. That's just human nature.
I think someone has something to answer for regarding all these deaths. People were trying to jump out of high floor windows. Yes, I think that's a problem.
A problem yes, in places where building codes are sub standard, or not enforced. Do you seriously believe the conversation about this tragedy will be about banning high-rises or about building codes?
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And who provides only one staircase to a 24-story building? It was cheap government housing for low-income families, I gathered from the article.
