The modelling and visualization of digital geoscientific data as a communication aid to land-use planning in the urban environment: an example from the Thames Gateway

The Thames Gateway Development Zone is the biggest urban development project in the UK for over 50 years. Developers and planners need to understand the implications of such large-scale urbanization on the environment. Requirements for sustainable growth within the Thames Gateway region mean that developers are being required to demonstrate that proposals are based on sound scientific information. This has resulted in a growing demand for geo-environmental information to be provided in more accessible, relevant and understandable forms. Advances in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and 3D modelling software mean that there is now far greater opportunity to develop geo-environmental information products for urban development. New and innovative ways of visualizing and communicating geoscience information have been developed. Using this new technology it is possible to predict not only the types of rocks beneath a site, but also the engineering properties (such as rock strength, shrink–swell characteristics or compressibility), hydrogeological properties (such as permeability, porosity and thickness of the unsaturated zone) and geohazard potential. Geoscientific information can then be imported into standard GIS packages and queried along with other complementary ground investigation data, resulting in the creation of a powerful tool to assist in strategic planning and sustainable development.