ABSTRACT
This chapter sets forth an iterative environmental design approach to soils management that takes into account land use and soils history and considers a broad array of soil management strategies to achieve ecological and environmental goals. This process is inherently context sensitive and requires broad appreciation of not only soil science and urban forestry, but also of local conditions from the site to the ecoregion scale. The multi-purpose nature of urban sites means that soil management must be a part of a holistic planning, design, and construction process. Management focuses primarily on reducing human exposure, however, especially exposure of children to Pb, the most common heavy metal in urban soils. Understanding pre-existing natural soils, soil surveys, and land use history can help interpret results of the detailed site-specific soil assessment. This comprehensive soils assessment describes what one has available to work with. The next part of the equation for improving soil quality is determining soil improvement goals.
