page_title: Occupancy
section_title: Building utilization
hierarchical_section_title: Occupancy / Building utilization
caption_attribution_description: The nurse's office in the west (older) section of Granger School in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Days after demolition had started.
context_page_description: Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is the number of units in such a building that are rented, leased, or otherwise in use. Lack of occupancy, in this sense, is a "vacancy".
context_section_description: Occupancy can also refer to the number of units in use, such as hotel rooms, apartment flats, or offices. When a motel is at full occupancy, it is common practice to turn on a NO VACANCY neon sign. Completely vacant buildings can also attract crime. A 2017 study found that demolishing vacant buildings "reduce crime by about 8 percent on the block group in question and 5 percent on nearby block groups". 
  Occupancy can also refer to the number of persons using an undivided space, such as a meeting room, ballroom, auditorium, or stadium.  As with building codes, fire protection authorities often set a limit on the number of people that can occupy a space at one time. These limits are established primarily to allow all occupants safe passage through exits, but can also be employed to preserve the integrity of a structure. 
  An occupancy sensor is a device that can tell if someone is in a room, and is often used in home automation and security systems.  These are typically more advanced than motion sensors, which can only detect motion.
caption: The interior of a vacant building showing signs of vandalism and decay
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A560", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2008:05:03 10:14:38", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5108", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "3830", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "13/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:05:03 10:14:38", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:05:03 10:14:38", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "189/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "11/4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "11/4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode, red-eye reduction mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3072", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2304", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "3072", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "2304", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "3334", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "40960/3", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2304000/169", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}