Masonry Magazine September 1965 Page. 24
Building Codes in Urban U.S.A.
(continued from page 23)
The Uniform Building Code's strength is mostly in the Midwest and the East. Only 8% use this code in the West, the Northwest, and the Southwest. The number of communities in each of the 34 states served by the National Building Code appears in the following table.
States served by the Southern Building Code appears the following table.
Alabama 27 Arkansas
Florida 35 Georgia
Kentucky 1 Louisiana
Maryland 2 Mississippi
Oklahoma 2 South Carolina
Tennessee 26 Texas
Virginia 7
Alabama 1 Arkansas 13
Connecticut 1 Delaware 1
Florida 3 Georgia 12
Illinois 42 lowa 3
Kansas 18 Kentucky 11
Louisiana 21 Maine 10
Maryland 2 Massachusetts 1
Michigan 1 Minnesota 9
Mississippi 6 Missouri 5
Nebraska 5 New Hampshire 7
New Jersey 44 New York 1
North Dakota 5 Ohio 8
Oklahoma 24 Pennsylvania 31
Rhode Island 2 South Carolina 1
South Dakota 4 Texas 26
Vermont 2 Virginia 11
Washington 1 West Virginia 5
Local Codes
Local (independent) building codes are still in use in 434 (or 23%) of all the urban communities in the United States. These communities include a population totalling more than 40,000,000 people; many of the nation's largest cities are included. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Illinois account for 60% of all local code users. Local building codes are no longer effective in 14 states, including North Carolina where it is mandatory for all communities with a population of 1,000 or more to use the North Carolina State Building Code. A single local code user occurs in each of 11 states. The number of communities using local codes in each of the 36 states where such usages occur appears in the following table.
Although BOCA is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, it has shown a much slower growth pace through the years than either the National or Uniform codes. However, it enjoys the unique distinction that no community served by BOCA has ever shifted to another building code. BOCA is primarily effective in the Midwest and the East. The number of communities served by the BOCA Code in each of the 20 states appears in the following table.
Alabama 1 Arizona
California 2 Colorado
Connecticut 6 Delaware
Florida 2 Georgia
Illinois 34 Indiana
lowa 3 Kansas
Kentucky 8 Louisiana
Maine 2 Maryland
Massachusetts 58 Michigan
Connecticut 6 Delaware 1
Illinois 25 Indiana 1
lowa 1 Kansas 5
Maine 1 Maryland 3
Massachusetts 3 Michigan 37
Minnesota 2 Missouri 23
New Jersey 28 North Dakota 1
Ohio 3 Pennsylvania 27
Rhode Island 4 South Dakota 1
Virginia 9 West Virginia 1
Minnesota 12 Mississippi
Missouri 7 Nebraska
New Hampshire 3 New Jersey
New York 70 Ohio
Oklahoma 1 Pennsylvania
Rhode Island 6 Tennessee
Texas 16 Vermont
Virginia 1 Washington
West Virginia 6 Wisconsin
The Southern Building Code is the only regional building code and has proved a tower of strength through the years. It continues to expand, and the code is regularly updated. The number of communities in each of the 13 states served by the Southern Building Code appears in the following table.
Waiting for a Building Code
Fifty-two cities and towns scattered across fourteen states were still without building codes as of January. (continued on page 26)