Expansive soils are clayey soils that change in volume due to changes in water content and result in ground movement. Seasonal moisture change-driven movements in such soil can be upwards of 100 mm in many places. Designing and constructing in such soil can be challenging, especially due to the complexity involved in their behavior and their susceptibility to climate variables such as precipitation and temperature. Due to climate change, the temperature across most of the world is expected to increase with changed rainfall patterns. This makes designing on such soil even more challenging as structures built today need to be able to sustain environmental load across their design life which is often 50 to 100 years. This paper discusses the current state of practice in designing on expansive soils. How the material properties are characterized and how they are accounted for in design are discussed along with the limitations involved in such approaches. Some of the more advanced approaches that could be used are also discussed along with challenges involved in such approaches.