Tunnels for a better life - Impresso

“Tunnels for a Better Life”, the theme for the WTC 2014, presentes a subtle change of approach from the WTC 1998 “Tunnel and Metropolises” – The first held in Brazil. This has arisen from the increasing social understanding of the importance of the underground works for the urban life around the worl.

The use of underground spac and the construction of tunnels around the world faced visible transformation since 1998. During this period of 16 years, new Technologies, new materials and the intense use of Shields of large capacity and power stepped in the construction of tunnels. Besides, there was a notable technical improvement in the construction methods, conventional or not.

However, the most significant improvement was the public opinion’s awareness. More and mor people came tounderstand and value the underground space for what it can offer concerning the improvement of the population’s quality of life. The benefits are even clearer in developing countries, such as Brazil and the Other Latin American nations, which were for a long time fascinated for monumental surface structures.

It is importante to highlight the high technical quality of the papers, which were submitted to a strick group of reviewers within the Scientific Committee, and the authors’ effort to meet their demands.

The world will be a better place When the most inventive technical solutions created by man become reality. In this contexto, the underground solutions have great importance for making life better for humans in the 21st century.