Urban ground truths: Valuing soil and subsoil in urban development
Healthy soil is essential for the provision of urban green space. The biophysical services that green spaces provide, such as stormwater filtering and storage, heat mitigation and air filtration, all rely on an adequate volume and depth of healthy soil.
Yet many of our new residential developments may not have enough healthy soil to support these services.
In his latest report, Urban ground truths, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment investigates what happens to soil in the course of the urban residential land development process. The report identifies practices undermining the health and extent of soil in new subdivisions and infill developments, as well as market and regulatory drivers behind these practices.