I remember in my control engineering classes, my professor would say that the worst buildings to construct in a high earthquake risk area are midrises (~18 stor

I remember in my control engineering classes, my professor would say that the worst buildings to construct in a high earthquake risk area are midrises (~18 stories). I'm not an expert on this matter, but if this is correct, San Francisco has a natural challenge to housing that NYC doesn't have. Building tall is expensive, and building low doesn't create optimal density.