White House Announces Efforts to Increase Community Resilience Through Building Codes and Standards

Words: Dan KamysOn Thursday, May 12, the White House hosted a Conference on Resilient Building Codes to highlight the critical role of building codes in furthering community resilience and the importance of incorporating resilience and the future impacts of climate change in the codes and standards development process. Building codes set the baseline for the safe design and construction of homes, schools and workplaces, providing the minimum requirements to adequately safeguard the health, safety and welfare of building occupants. The impacts of climate change also pose significant challenges for buildings and homes, many of which were not built to withstand the future impacts of climate change. As part of the conference, the Obama Administration highlighted federal and private-sector efforts aimed at advancing the principles of resilience in building codes and standards, and building design. Earlier, President Obama declared May as National Building Safety Month. New federal actions announced at the event include:
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Incorporation of Resilient Building Codes into Housing Programs.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Building Sciences: Update to the 2005 Multihazard Mitigation Council Mitigation Saves Study.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency: Disaster Deductible for the Public Assistance Program.
And more. Complete details from the White House are available online in a Fact Sheet.
Laying the Foundation for the Future: Workforce Development at the Arizona Masonry Council
July 2026

For generations, masonry has been built on a simple but powerful principle: knowledge passed from one set of hands to the next. In Arizona, the Arizona Masonry Council (AMC) is working to ensure that tradition continues by investing in one of the industr

Dawn Rogers
Industry News
Read More
What Mason Contractors Don't Know Is Costing Them Money
July 2026

Most mason contractors can tell you exactly what a job should cost before it starts. Bid labor hours, material takeoffs, and crew rates per square foot. The numbers are on paper, and they look right. What most can't tell you is whether those numbers held

Erin Koets
Build Smart
MAP Partner
Read More
Preserving Masonry Aesthetics with Concealed Lintel Systems
July 2026

Masonry has long been valued for its ability to create buildings with character, permanence, and visual appeal. Features such as arches, deep reveals, corbelling, and decorative brickwork continue to be popular design elements in modern architecture. Howe

Erica Oliveraz
MAP Partner
Read More
The Sync Up: Aligning Schedule, Labor, and Logistics in Masonry
July 2026

A masonry contractor is only as good as the crew standing on the staging. You can source the highest-grade block, line up the perfect mix, and have every submittal approved weeks in advance, but production ultimately depends on the stamina, skill, and phy

Shayne Sanders
MAP Partner
Sponsored
Read More