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The entire sunset district could look like Manhattan. It’s not like we don’t know how to build buildings that are taller than two stories. It’s a completely self-inflicted space constraint.
Well, the appeal of living in gigantic skyscrapers does diminish a bit when you're living in an earthquake zone. Even being in a fourth floor apartment during a 3.2 a few years back was a deeply unpleasant experience, and I say this as someone who slept through the '92 Northridge quake as a kid.
Tokyo disagrees with you.
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That depends on the quality of the skyscrapers. High-rises in Taiwan can easily withstand magnitude 7 or higher quakes that had they occurred in Chile, Turkey, or the Philippines would have devastated thousands of one or two-story buildings.
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Lots of people do this (see Taiwan, Japan). Even in San Francisco there are tall buildings. There's no shortage of demand.
Not saying you can't do this. Just that it's unpleasant.
I have literally never heard a Californian complain about the unpleasantness of earthquakes.
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