The LA Times recently debuted a useful map of seismic retrofit projects in major sections of the city months after official updates to the building code were enacted to address risks posed to soft-story and non-ductile concrete structures before 2033.

The map was made by surveying available records from Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, and Pasadena. More than 6,000 of the 16,000 buildings in the dataset are categorized as still requiring retrofits, including many homes and offices built before 1996.

Clusters of buildings in Pasadena’s Old Town and near the California Institute of Technology, most sections of Downtown LA and its nearby constituents (Koreatown, Jefferson Park, and Pico-Union), and a large swath of Hollywood between Beverly Hills and La Brea Avenue contain the majority of what has yet to receive seismic retrofits. The year ahead should see a decisive turnaround, as 60% of the yet-to-be-retrofitted soft-story buildings in the city are mandated to be completed within the next twelve months. 

The Times cautions: “The list of buildings in need of a retrofit will only grow in the coming years. By summer 2024, L.A. County anticipates passing an ordinance for high-rise non-ductile concrete buildings in unincorporated areas, where 1 million people live with a 10-year deadline.”

The new data adds to a list of 33 public buildings in the Los Angeles County government's inventory also determined to be risks that was published in March. Most properties will have until 2042 to enact retrofits. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) currently estimates there to be a 46% chance of a major (7.0 magnitude or above) earthquake occurring before the end of that decade.

The map also contains information about where each building stands in relation to liquefication and fault zones. The partial list of seismic retrofits is accessible here.