Professor Elam

Sunday Jan 31 2010

the Express News continues its coverage of the fallen wall, and now, the potential for other 'retaining walls' to fall as well. The Northern reaches of San Antonio extend into the Hill country. Many 'lots' are unsuitable for building given the hilly terrain. And so builders simply terrace them by constructing walls. It turns out that many of these walls never got a permit to be built. 

 I am currently reading The Tipping Point by Malcom Galdwell. Gladwell makes the case that small changes can finally bring a big change, remember the camel and that one last straw? In the photo at left the breach in the wall is evident. Not only does this endanger the houses above the wall, what about those below the wall?  

There are well, no telling how many of such walls all over North San Antonio. Now I suspect that buyers will be shunning houses depending on such a wall. Toyota will fix their accelerator pedal problems. I am not sure how this problem will be resolved. 

Again this forms the basis for a good discussion in ethics class.  Who's responsible?

Negligent city inspectors, permit writers

Builders who are less than forthright and careless in procedures, the wall at left did not have an engineers stamp on it, surprise surprise!

Naive home buyers