Preface

Resilience—being the capacity of an eco-system to absorb perturbations without suffering significant changes in its characteristics and then being able to return to its original state—is a valuable concept in the construction field. If we add to this the importance of building sustainable infrastructures from the economic, environmental, and social points of view, we can then understand the interrelationships between human actions and nature. This is therefore the leitmotif of ISEC-9, which will be held in Valencia, Spain from 24 to 29 July, 2017.

The book we are presenting contains the collective efforts of many authors where all the works have been peer-reviewed in order to ensure meeting the ISEC conferences' high standards. The book offers articles from the various areas in civil engineering and construction, including structures, materials, construction safety, housing, education and professional ethics, cost and project management, asset and facilities management, risk analysis and disaster management, procurement, and quality, among others.

The conference has been made possible thanks to the invaluable aid of the Universitat Politècnica de València's School of Civil Engineering (CAMINOS UPV), and provides an opportunity to see and meet the people, premises, and facilities whose aim is to improve teaching and innovation in the field of civil engineering. We must therefore express our gratitude to all those who have contributed to the organization, formed the scientific committees, and to all the volunteers who have made this event possible.

Lastly, but certainly not the least in importance, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, we would like to thank all those researchers who have contributed their best work, and all the reviewers whose anonymous comments and suggestions have helped make the papers meet the highest scientific standards.

Eugenio Pellicer, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
José M. Adam, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Víctor Yepes, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
Amarjit Singh, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA
Siamak Yazdani, Heyer Engineering, USA
Editors