Lessons From Chile: Better Building Codes Work, so Why Don't We Have Them?

Chile's seismic construction codes saved lives in the latest quake, but what if the next Big One happens here?

The earthquake in Haiti prompted a lot of architectural analysis of buildings there, and in megacities around the world. Without proper planning--and stricter building codes--most of the biggest cities on earth are "rubble in waiting." (See a round-up of the current discussions about Haiti here.) If Haiti showed architecture's failure, Chile might show its success.

The quake...