In urbanized and developed lands, soils are often highly disturbed or missing and the creation of soils through amendment, custom blending, including use of nonsoil components to achieve specific goals is increasingly common. This trend creates new opportunities for soil scientists as well as posing novel challenges and questions for both science and practice. These manufactured soils may be designed to ameliorate degraded properties necessary to support vegetative production, facilitate air and water movement, filter stormwater, or have physical characteristics (such as light weight, or ability to support structures) that allow them to serve specific functions in built or engineered environments. Speakers will address 1) ubiquity and trends in the creation of these soils; 2) the new challenges created for science; 3) controversies such as long-term sustainability, tradeoffs with natural soil sustainability and engineering objectives; and 4) future research agendas. The purpose of this session is to present information that promotes discussion on the development, efficacy, suitability and sustainability of manufactured, blended, and engineered soil substitutes for use in a variety of applications.