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Book review |
Ludlow, UK
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The title aims right at the core of the concerns of many within the ground engineering industry who are grappling with the problems of redevelopment and regeneration of urban areas in formerly industrialized regions. Unfortunately, the volume fails to focus on what many might consider to be the principle issues, including groundwater, contamination and the character of anthropogenic ground. Perhaps use of terms such as ‘applied geology’, ‘built environment’ or ‘mining legacy’ rather than ‘urban geology’ might have more successfully conveyed the concepts which this volume encompasses.
This book presents a compilation of 35 papers concerning a wide variety of projects, but there is little text to draw the threads together. Indeed, 20% of the papers are not strictly concerned with urban areas in Wales at all, such as mineral resources (e.g. Paper 31 on exploration for gold) and civil engineering in the country (e.g. Paper 15 on the maintenance of the Severn Tunnel). The balance of the book's content presumably reflects the contributions received for the seminar held on 14th September 2004 in Cardiff, which had the same name as the book's title. The editors are to be commended for publishing the deliberations so promptly, so permitting a wider readership to benefit without the delay experienced following so many conferences. However it is rather a shame that the opportunity has not been taken by delaying publication 6 months or so, which would have allowed the discussions on the day to have been incorporated along with a broader view of
