Foreword   This web site, dedicated to seismic resistant design and construction in the Developing Countries, is funded by Pell Frischmann Consulting Engineers. The solutions, proposed in this web based manuals, concentrate on low-rise and accessible housing, built from traditional materials in rural areas in earthquake prone parts of the world. However there are sections of this web site that deal with "modern" construction types- namely reinforced concrete, confined masonry and reinforced masonry applied to low-rise housing. The content is based on the research carried out at the Engineering Structures Research Centre at City Universtity. The analysis of earthquake damaged and survived low-rise houses, in the Developing Countries and elsewhere, has provided many lessons and solutions for safe, accessible low-rise housing. Relevant literature, recent developments and implementation of prototype houses have been studied and practical approach and solutions are proposed. The techniques and details provided, are based on using locally available building materials and construction skills. Therefore different sections of the web site deal with different type of houses. House types are classified according to building materials used, type of construction, local building techniques, climatic conditions and traditional form. Some of the illustrations used on this web site have been reproduced from a variety of sources. Efforts have been made to contact copyright sources.   Development team   Proffesor Kuldeep S. Virdi, PhD DIC CEng FICE FIStructE, Director, Engineering Structures Research Centre City University, London Mr. Rossen D. Rashkoff, MPhil MSc Dipl Eng