Building Regulations and Existing Buildings: Evolution of Building Regulations in the United States

摘要

This is one of three state - of - the - art reports on building regulations for existing buildings, with a focus on the evolution of building regulations. A general discussion of the types of building regulations covers planning, building construction, building maintenance and use, and retroactive regulations. The historic overview of regulations development highlights organizations developing or promulgating codes. Among these are organizations related to fire safety, organizations involved in the national electrical code, and those active in the housing area. Model code organizations are also discussed, as is the role of professional societies and associations in developing or promulgating codes, activities of the National Bureau of Standards, and other Federal agencies, and city and State involvement in code establishment. The basic attributes of the codes that have evolved to this day are explained for the categories of fire safety; accident safety, health, and sanitation; structural safety, and electrical safety. References are given to specific codes. Appendixes contain comparisons by code for various categories.