Healthy soils for healthy cities

Open to researchers, planners, environmental scientists, architects, health professionals, veterinarians, and others working at the intersection of soil, health, and urban development.

Morning sessions 

Join us as we explore URSOILL – an exciting project within the European Commission’s Mission Soil programme. URSOILL focuses on developing innovative solutions for urban soil restoration through a network of five Living Labs located across Europe. Two experiments will be placed at the SLU campus in Uppsala, where especially the quality of constructed soil substrates will be studied. Furthermore, SLU will contribute to developing increased urban soil literacy informed by the different Living Labs.

Key topics:

• The Soil Directive – implications for urban soil management
• Contaminated urban soils – risks, remediation and opportunities
• Sustainable use of existing soils – reusing urban soil materials responsibly

Afternoon: Urban Healthscapes

Focusing on soil as a foundation for human, animal, and ecosystem health – a One Health perspective. We highlight the role of urban soil microbiomes in shaping both physical and mental well-being, biodiversity, and the health of wild and domestic animals. We also explore how architecture and urban design can support living soils through materials, form, and ecological integration.

Featured speakers include:

• Dr. Tiffany Scholier, expert in systems biology and sustainable sanitation at Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.
• Dr. Jessica Zampolli, environmental microbiologist at Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, specializing in bioremediation.
• Dr. Richard Beckett, Associate Professor in Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture. 

Additional speakers will be announced soon