Using gravimetric method in territorial planning

In territorial planning, the knowledge of shallow underground conditions is of primary importance. In fact, shallow subsurface structures, including geological, archaeological and other man made underground structures, can largely influence the process of making planning decisions. Town-planning means first off all, planning the transportation system, subway lines, underground parking, and therefore hydrogeology, geothechnical conditions and archaeological sites location should be know very well, In this context, geophysical methods can be very useful tools but most of them cannot be used properly due to severe obstacles connected with noise level, places accessibility and budget limitations. Among the geophysical methods, gravity seems to be the less influenced by these problems. Although gravity has been traditionally used for regional and large scale investigations, several authors have recently demonstrated its potentiality in engineering surveys, both in standard (Arzi, 1975; Butler, 1991; Nozaki and Kanemori, 1996; Yule et al., 1998) and vertical gradient measurements (Fajklewicz, 1976; Butler, 1984; Klingele et al., 1991; Sambuelli and Ranieri, 1995). The aim of this communication is to provide an additional case history which further witnesses the convenience of small scale gravity surveys in urban areas and that they can provide important information for town-planning engineers.