How do you get people to walk up the stairs instead of taking the escalator?

To bring this to policy, there is a whole lot of frustration amongst some architects about the fire and construction codes regulating building construction.

An architect friend was explaining to me that one of the reasons most commercial buildings have such lame staircases (e.g. out of the way, concrete, heavy doors) is basically to satisfy fire regulations.

Not to discount fire safety, but–as the video shows–one way to encourage people to use stairs is to make them attractive.

I am not familiar enough with building code standards to suggest specific reforms; but I find the issue interesting from the standpoint of the difficulty in bridging bureaucratic cultures in municipalities that are often resistant to change.