this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2024
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Housing Bubble 2: Return of the Ugly
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Just to tack on to all of your points, there are also different energy efficiency requirements for commercial and residential buildings. R-values on walls and windows are lower in commercial spaces (for a variety of legitimate and debatable reasons) which is why office buildings can have floor to ceiling aluminum windows while residential buildings generally have more opaque walls. Insulation requirements between units, between floors, and for mechanical rooms are also lower in commercial spaces.
Some office buildings cannot become residential spaces at all.
Ah yes I had forgotten about that one, thanks for adding it to the list.
It just goes to show why the costs of designing and constructing for mixed used needs to be offset by some form of tax on single use buildings.
I don't give capitalism much credit (pun not intended) but it is good at finding the most cost efficient way to do something. Regulations and taxation must be adjusted to align what is the right and correct outcome with what is cheapest. And changes to those regulations and taxation need to move atleast the same speed as the industry to keep commercial interests aligned with the public good.