Having traved widely thru Mexico/Central/South America, that which mystifies me the most about traveling there, walking around their cities, is the plethora of concrete used in construction. Don't think I've ever seen a house down there built of wood, or stayed in a motel constructed of wood.
Concrete all the way!
With that, that allows the rooftop decks on houses and even the motels I've stayed in. And even concrete walls between the units in high rise hotels!
When I bought a lot in the south Tijuana hills, 6 years ago, I had an architect design me a house for the site, and given every stitch of it was to be built of concrete, I went for the curved walls and a whole floor on the top being a deck.
I've heard these excuses why they build primarily with wood in the U.S. and it all falls on deaf ears: it's so expensive to build with concrete!
A Las Vegas townhouse developer, a few years back, went an built some scattered townhouses in this city, and through the article in the paper, he claimed it only cost $3k more to build them out of concrete!
So what's really behind it all, the truth and nothing but the truth? Rapidity of construction? Lumber companies lobbying?