The PEER Reports Series comprises state-of-the-art research in earthquake engineering and related fields by the more than 150 expert members of the PEER universities consortium. The current emphasis of the series is on performance-based engineering of lifelines and building structures.
Earthquakes have always been a terrifying phenomenon, and they’ve become more deadly as our cities have grown — with collapsing buildings posing one of the largest risks. But why do buildings collapse in an earthquake? And how can it be prevented? Vicki V. May explains the physics of why it is not the sturdiest buildings, but the smartest, that will remain standing.