Improving Soil Health: A Systemic Approach for Co-Creating Living Labs in Urban and Industrial Environments
The urgency of prioritizing soil health is evident through initiatives like the EU 2030 Soil Protection Strategy, which aims to ensure healthy soils by limiting degradation by 2050. Recognizing soil as a shared resource to safeguard, the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” emphasises the need for joint efforts to promote sustainable soil management across diverse contexts. Innovative approaches like Living Labs offer collaborative platforms for stakeholders to co-create strategies for preserving healthy soils. However, significant knowledge gaps remain, especially regarding the design of transition pathways that govern and embed the complexity of diversity in spatial contexts, soil functions, and organisms.
This webinar explores diverse co-creation strategies crucial for mobilizing stakeholders and overcoming challenges in fostering healthier soils in urban and industrial areas. It introduces an analytical matrix to facilitate delving into critical parameters to inform effective soil interventions and the establishment of healthy soil living labs. The discussion, drawing from European case studies, aims to inform adaptive Lab strategies addressing Soil Mission’s objectives across diverse sites, land use, and ownerships, scales of action, levels of governance interactions, and the variability in multi-stakeholder cooperations (disciplines and geography). It also highlights the need to consider forms of land optimization for ecological functions, the type of intermediation into knowledge co-production networks, and the legitimization of access to land for adaptive reuse and soil regeneration.
Agenda
| Time | Topic / Speaker |
|---|---|
| 10:00 - 10:15 |
Introduction Farah Makki and Eugenio Morello, Politecnico di Milano - DAStU |
| 10:15 - 11:15 |
Presentations and Round Table Discussion In relation to Mission’s Objective 03: Stop soil sealing and increase re-use of urban soils “Toward the 2030 net zero land take: experience and results from the SOS4Life project” Italy Fabrizio Ungaro, Institute of BioEconomy of the National Research Council - CNR In relation to Mission’s Objective 04: Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration ”Designing with Nature – Case study of UIA Baia Mare SPIRE” Codrut Papina, URBASOFIA In relation to Mission’s Objective 08: Improve soil literacy in society “Citizen science initiatives for soil literacy” Alba Peiro , ECHO Soil Project - Ibercivis Foundation (Spain) |
| 11:15 - 11:45 |
Interaction with the Audience Q&A Session |
| 11:45 - 12:00 | Closing Remarks |
The Speakers
Fabrizio Ungaro
Fabrizio, PhD in Soil Science and Climatology, has nearly 30 years of research experience on soil properties, qualities and functions, digital soil mapping, and ecosystem services assessment. He works as a full-time researcher at the Institute of BioEconomy of the National Research Council (Italy). He has collaborated as a soil scientist and spatial data analyst in several EU, national and regional funded research projects, in diverse and multidisciplinary contexts.
Codruț Papina
Codruț Papina is an urban and landscape planner. He is a PhD candidate at UAUIM Bucharest with a focus on the development of urban peripheries and biophilic cities. He holds valuable experience in co-creation processes for strategic planning, urban design and urban regeneration. Currently involved in HORIZON2020 projects proGIreg and STARDUST and Urban Innovative Actions project, SPIRE Baia Mare.
Alba Peiro
Alba holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Zaragoza (Spain). During her doctoral studies, she joined a local Citizen Science project focused on historical memory, and since then, she has been researching Citizen Science at Ibercivis Foundation. Alba currently coordinates and participates in projects focused on soil literacy and soil preservation against climate change at both national and European levels.
Organizers
Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) with FUNDECYT-PCTEX with the support of Trust-IT Services
Organisers
