Healthy soil plays a crucial role in supporting ecosystems and regulating the climate in cities. In collaboration with soil experts, we developed a handbook for designers that answers the question: how to design for a vital soil in urban areas? Download the handbook.
Vital soil, as a living entity, plays a crucial role in supporting ecosystems, regulating climate, and sustaining life on Earth. It serves as the foundation upon which our cities are built, and designing with and for this essential resource is vital for achieving a sustainable future. However, as designers, we are not (yet) accustomed to incorporating the underground realm in our designs, models and representations of streets, parks, buildings. The urban designer’s gaze towards the soil has been unidimensional, as a plane of transformation - something that could be transformed to support cities above. To move beyond this technical approach, we have developed a practical guide aimed at urban designers and other professionals in the built environment who wish to design circular and regenerative public spaces that can support rather than exploit vital soil. This research was made possible by the Creative Industries Fund.
A nature-based approach
It is becoming increasingly important to design with nature in the face of the climate crisis. Stakeholders, from designers and policy makers to developers and end users, are increasingly realizing the limitations of the idea of the "makeability" of our cities in the fragile delta we call our home. An important turning point was the central government's policy document "Water and Soil Stewardship" (25-11-2022), which establishes the needs of water and soil as guiding principles in spatial planning.
A fundamental part of designing with nature is the opportunities and constraints offered by soil. Here we explore how a vital soil can guide the design of public space. A vital soil is one that is integral to ecosystems and has the regenerative properties necessary to provide ecosystem services for years to come. Designing for a vital soil is not only an investigation into creating ideal conditions for a vital soil as a product, but also a vital soil as a process.
Integrated process
Working with and for vital soil is still relatively new within the field of urban planning and therefore requires a thorough understanding of how to design with and for vital soil. This requires a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach that involves working closely with experts from relevant fields such as soil science, hydrology, ecology and landscape architecture. This research would not have been possible without the insights shared by various experts and policy makers. You can learn about this integrated approach in our "Building from the Soil" workshop. Check out the brochure below for more information.
Case study: Westblaak
To anchor our research in practice, we used the transformation of Westblaak as a test case. Rotterdam is currently working on eight urban projects that are part of climate adaptation plans to effectively deal with extreme heat and precipitation. These projects emphasize "nature-based" approaches, of which the transformation of Westblaak is one.
The future ambition for Westblaak is to transform it into "Blaakpark," a recreational space that also serves as a climate mitigation measure. Currently, the area is largely paved, with only 12.5% green space. The existing vegetation does not contribute significantly to reducing heat stress and there is water runoff during heavy rainfall.
In addition, the subsurface of Westblaak is occupied by numerous cables and pipes. There are also several competing ambitions and goals at both urban and project levels that must be weighed. To clarify these various ambitions and gain a holistic understanding of the optimal conditions needed for the various ecosystem services that the soil provides, we have outlined three extreme scenarios.
Scenarios
From left to right, we see three different scenarios for Westblaak. The first scenario, maximum climate adaptation, introduces permeable surfaces, a water buffer and underground water storage to withstand heavy rainfall and heat due to climate change. The second scenario focuses on maximum biodiversity, with measures to increase biodiversity both below and above ground. The third scenario, maximum circularity, includes design experiments that grow Westblaak's ecosystem and preserve existing elements.
1/3
Representation of soil
In current design drawings, soil is often omitted: a white space under a black line. New drawing techniques are needed to properly represent and "include" vital soil in the battle for space. The image on the right serves as an experiment with new drawing techniques. From top to bottom, the image progresses between different perspectives - from a bird's eye view, to a longitudinal section, to an underground plan map, to a perspective section - to represent the vital soil from different angles. In this way, the design for Westblaak, based on and benefiting the vital soil, comes to life.
Impact of measures
The latest version of this handbook was published online in May 2024 in both English and Dutch. To prioritize the right measures in a context where every square meter counts, the research has been expanded to include the quantifiable impact of measures. Which measures deliver the most for the different transitions (climate, biodiversity, circularity), prioritizing the interests of vital soil? This led to an enrichment of our handbook, in which design measures were given an impact score and a selection tool was added. In addition, the measures with the most impact have been detailed.
Next phase
In the meantime, we continue to work on the third phase of the research, again supported by the Creative Industries Fund and the Municipality of Rotterdam. This phase focuses on reaching a wider audience and broadening the application of the measures in different typologies of public space. We foresee three activities: review of the measures from previous phases with technical experts, application of the measures in different public space typologies, and expansion of the measures with more attention to the deeper subsurface.
The handbook is our contribution to the conversation about designs where vital soil is guiding. We hope readers can apply the insights and enrich and improve them where necessary. This is how we work together to create more circular and regenerative public spaces in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and beyond!
