Christchurch, the second largest city of New Zealand, was hit by a series of destructive earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 causing 185 fatalities and extensive damage to the buildings and lifelines of Canterbury (~$40 billion New Zealand dollars loss). While undoubtedly the earthquakes had many engineering, scientific and social facets, one may argue that from an engineering viewpoint the 2010-2011 earthquakes were largely geotechnical in nature, and were dominated by the unprecedented impacts from soil liquefaction and rock-falls over nearly half of the city area. Christchurch is now embarking on a large reconstruction project in which ground improvement, foundation engineering and restoration of lifelines comprise a substantial component of the $40 billion NZD rebuild effort. Indeed, Christchurch provides an exceptional context and venue for the 6ICEGE. 

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