Ebook: Urban Land: Degradation·Investigation·Remediation

Urban land is an environmental key topic considering the increasing urbani­ sation of our world. The amounting pressure on resources especially in the urban environment demand awareness across technical and political sectors and solid concepts for workable solutions. This book will address those people, who are key in coping with the challenges of sustainable urban land use management: Professionals in the growing field of urban land recycling and graduate students from different disciplines including urban planning, environmental sciences and geotechnics. Processes that lead to urban land degradation include the extraction of resources, their transformation into goods, the production of waste and conflicts in the allocation of land. Industrial soil pollution, soil sealing and urban sprawl pose serious challenges to resource management in urban environments. The possible implications are not necessarily restricted to the urban area but do have feedback into the countryside. The reduction of arable land in urban peripheries often causes enhanced pressure on back-country natural ecosystems such as forests, grass- and wetlands. Urban land recycling especially in the developing world is to be seen in the context of poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Ifwe don't get a proper sustainable use of urban land, as well as of water and other natural resources that relate to them, sustainable development will not be reached.

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Urban land is developed, utilised, abandoned and left to degradation in many different ways. These processes are closely related to four aspects of human activities: the extraction of resources, their transformation into goods, the production of waste and the conflicts that arise when population grows and demands increase while resources remain limited. Urban land is developed and deteriorates in the course of these activities, while cities keep spreading, consuming the green spaces surrounding them. Sustainable city development aims at protecting the environment by reusing urban terrain. The author brings together the different aspects of this transdisciplinary endeavour by discussing the causes of degradation, the strategies of investigation and the techniques of remediation of urban land.

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Urban land is developed, utilised, abandoned and left to degradation in many different ways. These processes are closely related to four aspects of human activities: the extraction of resources, their transformation into goods, the production of waste and the conflicts that arise when population grows and demands increase while resources remain limited. Urban land is developed and deteriorates in the course of these activities, while cities keep spreading, consuming the green spaces surrounding them. Sustainable city development aims at protecting the environment by reusing urban terrain. The author brings together the different aspects of this transdisciplinary endeavour by discussing the causes of degradation, the strategies of investigation and the techniques of remediation of urban land.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XVII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Impacts....Pages 3-8
The Impact of Producing Goods....Pages 9-33
The Impact of Disposing Waste....Pages 35-47
The Impact of Extracting Resources....Pages 49-78
The Impact of Warfare....Pages 79-90
Front Matter....Pages 91-91
Site Investigation Strategy....Pages 93-104
Desk Study....Pages 105-118
Field Reconnaissance....Pages 119-150
Field Investigation....Pages 151-182
Front Matter....Pages 183-183
Restoring Urban Land Versus Brownfield Aesthetics....Pages 185-191
Remediating Industrial Wasteland....Pages 193-235
Remediating Waste Disposals....Pages 237-247
Remediating Sites of Resource Extraction....Pages 249-260
Remediating Sites of Warfare....Pages 261-269
Sustainable Urban Land Recycling....Pages 271-284
Back Matter....Pages 285-336

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Urban land is developed, utilised, abandoned and left to degradation in many different ways. These processes are closely related to four aspects of human activities: the extraction of resources, their transformation into goods, the production of waste and the conflicts that arise when population grows and demands increase while resources remain limited. Urban land is developed and deteriorates in the course of these activities, while cities keep spreading, consuming the green spaces surrounding them. Sustainable city development aims at protecting the environment by reusing urban terrain. The author brings together the different aspects of this transdisciplinary endeavour by discussing the causes of degradation, the strategies of investigation and the techniques of remediation of urban land.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-XVII
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Impacts....Pages 3-8
The Impact of Producing Goods....Pages 9-33
The Impact of Disposing Waste....Pages 35-47
The Impact of Extracting Resources....Pages 49-78
The Impact of Warfare....Pages 79-90
Front Matter....Pages 91-91
Site Investigation Strategy....Pages 93-104
Desk Study....Pages 105-118
Field Reconnaissance....Pages 119-150
Field Investigation....Pages 151-182
Front Matter....Pages 183-183
Restoring Urban Land Versus Brownfield Aesthetics....Pages 185-191
Remediating Industrial Wasteland....Pages 193-235
Remediating Waste Disposals....Pages 237-247
Remediating Sites of Resource Extraction....Pages 249-260
Remediating Sites of Warfare....Pages 261-269
Sustainable Urban Land Recycling....Pages 271-284
Back Matter....Pages 285-336
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