– Why do some cultures utilize roof space (Mexico, Middle East, NYC) and other’s don’t (Canada, Mid-west America)
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Areas without heavy snowfall are more conducive to useable, flat roofs. In northern climates where it snows a lot, it’s much more costly to engineer a roof that can withstand that extra weight load. Additionally, more stringent fire code in North America means legal rooftop areas need 2 means of egress that have to be built into the architecture. As such, it only makes sense to make the added investment where the alternatives for outdoor space are too costly or unavailable — dense urban places like NYC, where having a yard isn’t feasible. It’s also more common in other urban areas. I live in a townhouse in Chicago and I have a roof deck on top. However, you’ll very rarely see one in a suburban area where they can have ground level outdoor space.
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