The Urban Forest

The development of urban areas to accommodate burgeoning populations has led to the construction of high-rise buildings that are concentrated in relatively close proximity. This trend appears to be accelerating, and may result in the formation of what may be termed “high-rise urban forests,” consisting of a group of closely spaced buildings that are tall and slender. One of many examples of such a collection of buildings is shown in Figure 1. It’s well-recognized that wind loadings on such buildings are influenced significantly by the proximity and orientation of surrounding buildings, as is the seismic response. But when designing the foundations for such buildings, there’s been a tendency to focus on each building as an individual, isolated structure.