United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Soils Go to Accessibility Information
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6. Multicultural Context

Urban soils are part of the global soil system as much as are soils under any other landuse. The customer base, however, for urban soil survey and interpretations is in pluralistic urban areas with ethnic variety that complicates the identification of stakeholders, technology transfer to customers of widely differing educational and skill levels, and project timetables that are dependent on multilevel funding networks. These issues are found worldwide, and the need for urban soil information is just as widespread.

 Photo of an urban area from the sky.

Global applications for urban USA programs are evident in seven focus areas:

  1. farmland loss,
  2. waste disposal,
  3. food quality and quantity,
  4. reclaiming marginal lands,
  5. needs for renewal in wilderness or parks,
  6. water supply/flood control, and
  7. air quality & dust control.

Urban soil information will help to estimate the response of urban soils to human-induced and natural stresses in many types of environments.



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