Introduction  
Soil health concerns the practices of construction, agriculture, forestry, and other related fields. Within urban areas, soil is used for road and building construction, waste disposal, and open spaces. Soil is recognized as a resource for human activity. Soil health is an important and often underestimated component within urban areas. Soil health can be broken down into two components: First, the soil's ability to sustain the environment; and second, human's ability to sustain basic soil properties.

Urban soils lack their natural structure due to construction practices creating soil compaction and horizon layer mixing. This reduces the soil's ability to perform properly whether on-site or off-site. Current development practices do not contain standards for soil development beyond particle size. More specifically, there are no standards for applying soils to landscaped areas or consideration for indigenous soil properties.