LANDSLIDES: INVESTIGATION AND MITIGATION. CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides an introduction to TRB Special Report 247. It begins by pointing out that, in the years since the last landslides volume was published (TRB Special Report 176, 1978), there have been many advances in the way landslide investigation and mitigation are conducted. Chief among these advances are the advent of the personal computer, the availability of new geotextile products, and new understandings of the behavior of earth materials. Personal computers have allowed numerical stability analysis methods to become commonplace; the use of geotextiles presents options for better and more economical mitigation procedures; and the improved methods for field investigations coupled with new understanding of landslide processes supply better data and concepts to the landslide analysis process. However, landslide investigation and mitigation have been even more greatly affected by the imposition of environmental regulations and economic considerations. This chapter continues with a description of the report's intended audience, the provision of a definition for the term "landslide", historical information concerning landslides, and a brief overview of the report.