Dear all,
The Corby judgement is a wake up call to the regeneration industry. It raises policy and practical issues and should prompt us to ask probing questions about the professionalism and ethics of this sector.
Just to let you know that I will be making reference to the ramifications of the Corby judgment in my 10th Glossop lecture on Wednesday 25 November at the Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London (next to the Albert Hall and across the road from the Albert Memorial and Hyde Park). The evening event starts at 1700 with tea and will finish at 1930; there is no need to register. See http://tinyurl.com/nzce84 for further details
Directions to the RGS are at: http://www.rgs.org/AboutUs/Visiting+the+Society/Visiting+the+Society.htm
The abstract to my talk is as follows:
Optimal urban land reuse relies on visionary planning and a sound conceptual understanding of the
nature of the land and how it will interact with engineering and thereby society. The current ecological footprint of
Homo sapiens cannot be supported for long and that of developed societies is becoming increasingly unacceptable
worldwide. If we accept that you cannot successfully manage what you cannot understand, then we need to
understand the land beneath our feet if we are to be judged to have been wise stewards of the land by succeeding generations.
A risk based approach to land management was thought to be more cost effective than seeking to recover any
historic spills or releases of hazardous substances. However, the required skills base is still being built and endemic
inefficiency results. Engineering geology's principles of ground characterisation developed for construction and
mining projects equally apply to formulating conceptual models of the spatial and temporal distribution of, and
uncertainties in, contaminant sources, receptors and connecting pathways or isolating barriers. Such a model
informs scientific risk estimation and underpins value-laden risk evaluation.
Risk reduction, whether by pathway interruption or source removal, benefits from detailed engineering geological
understanding. Such remediation presents wider environmental and economic opportunities. Brownfield sites,
whether contaminated or not, offer local non fossil fuel energy generation, storage and distribution opportunities
which can only be exploited if they are integrated. Engineering geologists communicate complex ground conditions
and associated uncertainties to other professionals: They are well placed to foster the integration of risk based land
management into sustainable redevelopment.
You are most welcome to the event,
Kind regards,
Paul Nathanail
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