Alternative actions for quantum gravity and the intrinsic rigidity of   the spacetime
  Using the Steiner-Weyl expansion formula for parallel manifolds and the so called gonihedric principle we find a large class of discrete integral invariants which are defined on simplicial manifolds of various dimensions. These integral invariants include the discrete version of the Hilbert-Einstein action found by Regge and alternative actions which are linear with respect to the size of the manifold. In addition the concept of generalized deficit angles appear in a natural way and is related to higher order curvature terms. These angles may be used to introduce various aspects of rigidity in simplicial quantum gravity. 
J. Ambjorn, G.K. Savvidy and K.G. Savvidy