Soils are the habitat and basis of all plant, animal and human life. Contamination, sealing surfaces, compaction and erosion impoverish the soil and its myriad functions.

Land take for construction continues unabated, so compact development of residential and commercial areas will continue to be the concern of environmental protection, and the dense settlement structures of large cities and structural change creating brownfield sites offer significant opportunities. Innovative housing concepts and site regeneration can meet the demands of the business and housing market while using less land.

The city’s brownfield development programme develops transient uses for urban industrial wasteland, while areas which would be relatively expensive and difficult to recultivate are secured and allowed to revert to a natural state.