Soil functions
Providing a platform for construction
 |
| Construction of new housing on a brownfield site. |
Soil provides a foundation for built development.
Buildings (e.g. homes, offices) and transport infrastructure (e.g. railways and roads) are all built on soil and all rely on the different properties of soil.
Building on the wrong type of soil can be costly in economic terms; it can also cause environmental problems - such as soil contamination, flooding and water pollution.
Page published: 15 March 2005