Soil is more than just an area with buildings. Soil is a habitat. Soil is important for life. Soil has important functions in nature.
In the past, many people thought that soil was just a place. You can farm there. You can build houses there. You can spend your free time there. You can do business there. You can build roads there. You can build factories there. You can dump garbage there. You can do many things at the same time. But the soil is much more:
Soil hazard
The soil is damaged. This happens through incorrect use. Sealing, compaction, erosion, pollutants or excessive use also damage the soil. As a result, the quality of life deteriorates. This not only affects people. The soil is then less able to filter pollutants. The risk of polluted groundwater increases. In Germany, a lot of land is sealed every day. If this continues, there will soon be little valuable soil. Then there will be more conflicts in planning.
Soil Protection Act
The Federal Soil Protection Act came into force in March 1999. This was a first step. Soil is to be better protected. Previously, soil was not so important in environmental protection. The law aims to preserve the functions of the soil. Soil is to be protected from damage. After damage, the soil should be restored. The use of soil should not cause any damage. Soil consumption through sealing should be kept to a minimum. The German government wants to reduce the daily sealing of large areas to a small area by 2020. The federal states and local authorities are to implement this. Bad Homburg has had a soil protection concept since 2003. All old suspected contaminated sites have been examined since 1990.
Soil protection in the city of Bad Homburg is important. It is one of the objectives of planning. It is also part of economic, social and ecological development.
Soil protection in Bad Homburg
The city of Bad Homburg has a task. It must implement the objectives of the Soil Protection Act. These goals are set out in the law. They are also set out in the regional land use plan and the landscape plan. These plans are from the former Frankfurt/Rhine-Main conurbation planning association. Today it is called the Regional Association. The city must specify and implement the soil protection goals.
Soil protection goals
The city of Bad Homburg has important goals for soil protection. These goals are adapted to the conditions in Bad Homburg:
The town wants to consume little land. This is an important goal. It is quantitative soil protection.
The city evaluates soil functions. This is important for planning. It is qualitative soil protection.
The city is setting up a digital soil information system. It bundles data and information. The city is developing a land development report. This is land monitoring.
The city does public relations work. It wants to develop "soil awareness".
Soil and soil classificationLarge view of the image "Soil and soil classification"
© City of Bad Homburg
Soil protection benefits
Soil protection in the city of Bad Homburg is important. It is one of the objectives of planning. It is also part of economic, social and ecological development. Soil protection has many advantages. It is good for the soil. Soil is important for the ecosystem. Soil protection also has financial benefits for the city of Bad Homburg. The city can save money. It saves on infrastructure, pre-financing and compensatory measures. It also saves on investigations of contaminated areas. This eases the burden on the city's investment budget. This gives the city more money for other important expenditure. Soil protection makes the city more attractive. The inner area in particular is improving. This improves the social fabric of the city. There are also improvements in the architectural and design areas. This preserves the typical character of the city.
Results to date
There are concrete results of the soil protection concept from 2004:
The city has assessed the current state of the soil.
The city has assessed the current threat to the soil.
The city has assessed the soil quality. It has assessed the development potential of the soils.
The city has developed development goals, measures and indicators. It has developed decision-making tools. These are important for soil protection in urban planning and day-to-day administration.
The city has drawn up an action program for soil protection.
Left:
The Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
