Anthroposphere

Recent advances in seismology, combined with increasingly sophisticated data analysis and interpretation methods, now allow for detailed monitoring of urban areas and their constituent elements. These developments make it possible to anticipate critical failures of civil engineering structures, historic buildings, or even naturally occurring objects under human supervision (rock columns, landslides, etc.) at an earlier stage.

Throughout their life cycle, these objects are subjected to various stresses across different temporal and spatial scales, whether from daily use, extreme events (earthquakes, explosions), or increased environmental pressures. In the context of climate change, these factors can accelerate their degradation, raising major societal concerns regarding safety, heritage preservation, and urban resilience.

Furthermore, in urban environments, interactions between buildings and the ground modify the way seismic waves propagate. This phenomenon of collective interaction is analogous to locally resonant metamaterials: in these artificial materials, a dense network of resonators alters wave propagation by creating band gaps. Several seismological experiments, conducted both on urban analogues (forests, wind farm fields) and in real urban contexts (Quito, Grenoble), have revealed the existence of such band gaps. These depend closely on the physical properties of the ‘resonators’ (buildings, structures) and their spatial arrangement. These observations pave the way for an innovative concept: the ‘Seismically-Protected City,’ where urban planning becomes an active lever for reducing seismic vulnerability