Engineering-geological and geotechnical investigation for risk assessment

Abstract Before construction activities could begin, engineering geological and geotechnical investigations had to be approved in order to establish a map with suitable areas for safe construction. The example used in this study is Tunis City which has complex geology and geomorphology. The risk analysis was based on a large-scale land-suitability map that was prepared using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The approach used in this study combined physical data with the geotechnical properties of Tunis City. The adopted methodology and analyses were performed to assess the risk of urban expansion and landscape management. Results are presented as a zoning map that shows the suitable area for safe extension of the urban area. The data used and multi-criterion analysis of geotechnical and geological data seems to be useful for similar case studies and the adopted methodology can be used successfully for identifying similar cities for risk assessment.