Speaker Dr. Marios PANAGIOTOU Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of California, Berkeley Abstract It is predicted that by 2030, 60% of the world's total population will live in urban areas (47% in 2000). The number of tall buildings in urban centers and of major bridges near large earthquake faults will increase accordingly. Current seismic design for tall buildings and bridges focuses primarily on collapse prevention and does not attempt to limit damage and ensure post-earthquake functionality. Such design philosophy may result in unprecedented economic and social losses, following a major earthquake, which are inappropriate for the needs of many urban regions of the early and mid XXI century. For shallow earthquakes, regions in the direction and ...