Material Matters: Seismic stigma, the financial fallout from ending up on the earthquake-prone building register

Arthur Grimes says it is difficult to separate perception from reality when it comes to earthquake risk. (Image: NZME)

Thu, 12 Dec 2024

Thu, 12 Dec 2024

This is the final part in our Material Matters series looking at earthquake-strengthening costs and implicationsA press release announcing the only study done into the effects of earthquake-prone building labels on New Zealand commercial buildings starts off with a haiku: Buildings declared proneTo fall in quakes, fall in price.**Conditions apply.Which begs the question: what are those conditions?The study was conducted by Motu Research nearly a decade ago but was funded by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment-funded (MBIE) N...

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