If you’ve ever wondered why neighborhoods in Phoenix don’t look like New York City or somewhere in Europe, with brownstones lining the streets or smallish apartment buildings built close together, some advocates point to a simple building code change that is at the root. It’s called single stair reform.
Nicole Rodriguez is executive director of the nonprofit Valley Urban Action Alliance and president of the Urban Phoenix Project. She says there’s an outdated requirement that apartment buildings of a certain size have two staircases for fire evacuations.
Now, more cities and states are getting rid of that requirement and are advancing single stair reform. They say it’s an important step in improving housing supply and affordability — and it’s actually safer…