COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a pan-European intergovernmental framework. Its mission is to enable break-through scientific and technological developments leading to new concepts and products and thereby contribute to strengthening Europe's research and innovation capacities. It allows researchers, engineers and scholars to jointly develop their own ideas and take new initiatives across all fields of science and technology, while promoting multi- and interdisciplinary approaches. COST aims at fostering a better integration of less research intensive countries to the knowledge hubs of the European Research Area. The COST Association, an International not-for-profit Association under Belgian Law, integrates all management, governing and administrative functions necessary for the operation of the framework. The COST Association has currently 36 Member Countries.
One of the COST action was the Sub-Urban project (2013-2017), a European network of Geological Surveys, City Councils, Research Partners and Private Sector Companies working together to improve how we manage the ground beneath our cities and help decision-makers, planners and practitioners when managing the underground.
City studies were one of the key elements of the project and Dublin was among the partners cities.
The study covered the following:
- Introduction (overview, city description and geological setting)
- The urban subsurface environment (soils, groundwater, geochemistry, geological hazards)
- subsurface information (geotechnical database, geological models)
- Urban planning and management (The Irish planning process, City Development Plan)
- Future development and collaboration
The full report about the "Subsurface and Urban Planning in the City of Dublin" can be downloaded here.