Preface to the special issue on "Frontiers and applications of geological engineering and geophysical monitoring technologies in urban areas"

In 2050 about 70% of the world population will reside in urban areas. The global urbanization trend strongly requires the adoption of new strategies and programs for urban planning. One the key actions to tackle this social and economic challenge is to better monitor the geo-engineering infrastructures and the geological hazards in urban areas. With the rapid development in the construction of civil infrastructures in urban areas, the quality of these structures and their safety become a major concern. To ensure this and evaluate various potential geological and anthropic hazards, an improvement of the scientific and technological level of geo-engineering and geophysical monitoring technologies will be highly beneficial (Showstack, 2014; Broure, 2016).