Metamaterial-like transformed urbanism

Abstract

Viewed from the sky, the urban fabric pattern appears similar to the geometry of structured devices called metamaterials; these were developed by Physicists to interact with waves that have wavelengths in the range from nanometers to meters (from electromagnetic to seismic metamaterials). Visionary research in the late 1980s based on the interaction of big cities with seismic signals and more recent studies on seismic metamaterials, made of holes or vertical inclusions in the soil, has generated interest in exploring the multiple interaction effects of seismic waves in the ground and the local resonances of both buried pillars and buildings. Here, we use techniques from transformational optics and theoretically validate, by numerical experiments, that a district of buildings could be considered as a set of above-ground resonators, purely elastic, interacting with an incident seismic signal. We hope that our proposal will contribute to all theoretical and experimental efforts in design of cities of the future, from a metamaterial standpoint.