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1 Int'l J.L. Built Env't 9 (2009)

handle is hein.journals/jppel1 and id is 1 raw text is: The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1756-1450.htm International comparative analysis of building regulations: an analytical tool Jeroen van der Heijden OTB Research Institute for Housing, Urban, and Mobility Studies, Deft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands Abstract Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce a tool for the international comparative analysis of regulatory regimes in the field of building regulation. Design/methodology/approach - On the basis of a heuristic model drawn from regulatory literature, a typology of building regulatory regimes is introduced. Each type is illustrated with a number of real-life examples from North America, Europe, and Australia. Findings - Governments worldwide have introduced building regulatory regimes with a variety of designs. On an abstract level, these designs are shown to have a comparable pattern. This pattern is utilised to draw up a typology of regime-designs that can be placed on a sliding scale, with a pure public regime at the one end and a pure private regime at the other. Intermediate regimes display characteristics of both. Originality/value - The comparative analysis of different regimes assists policy makers by demonstrating which combinations of regulatory characteristics can provide the best results in particular instances. The typology introduced by the paper assists this process by providing a tool for systematic analysis of complex real-life cases. Keywords Buildings, Technical regulations, Specifications Paper type Conceptual paper Introduction Contemporary building regulations in developed countries have their origins in the nineteenth century, when changes in society due to the industrial revolution provided governments with reason to become increasingly involved in the building industry (see, for instance, the development of early building regulations in England: Ash and Ash, 1899; Emden, 1885; France: Risler, 1915; the USA: Gould, 1895; and The Netherlands: Kocken, 2004; van der Heijden et al., 2007). These changes included the urgent demand for housing for a growing number of immigrants, and the discovery of the relationship between insanitary conditions and public health. Since the nineteenth century, those regulations have been adapted to suit contemporary needs and, globally, current building regulations cover a broad range of topics, including This paper is based on Chapter 4 of the doctorate thesis Building regulatory enforcement regimes. Comparative analysis of private sector involvement in the enforcement of public building regulations. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2007 ENHR Conference in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The author has discussed early drafts of this paper with Andre Thomsen, Jitske de Jong, Neil Gunningham, Peter May and William Baer. The author is grateful for their advice and observations. The author also wishes to thank two anonymous reviewers of this journal for their valuable comments. Analysis of building regulations 9 International Journal of Law in the Built Environment Vol. 1 No. 1, 2009 pp. 9-25 © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1756-1450 DOI 10.1105/17561450910950223

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