Land Subsidence Analysis in Urban Areas: The Bangkok Metropolitan Area Case Study

Cities built on unconsolidated sediments consisting of clays, silt, peat, and sand, are particularly susceptible to subsidence. Such regions are common in delta areas, where rivers empty into the oceans, along flood plains adjacent to rivers, and in coastal marsh lands. Building cities in such areas aggravates the problem for several reasons:

1. Construction of buildings and streets adds weight to the region causing additional soil deformations.

2. Often the regions have to be drained in...