Soil Functions and Related Ecosystem Services for sustainable cities - takeaways from the webinar
The Institute for Urban Excellence (iUE) organized an international webinar on Soil for Sustainable Cities on June 25th 2025 as part of its broader mission to serve as a knowledge broker in urban planning. The webinar focused on the crucial yet often overlooked role of soil in urban development, bringing together experts from Latin America and Europe to share research, policy innovations, and practical applications related to soil sustainability in city contexts.
Tannya Pico, representing iUE, opened the event by outlining the Institute’s mission and areas of focus, which include the natural and built environment, inclusivity and representation, resilience and adaptation, and governance and financing. She emphasized that iUE operates across research, practice, and academic pillars to promote sustainable urban transitions through applied research, knowledge exchange, capacity building, and technical assistance. Tannya introduced the agenda, noting that the session would include presentations from four experts —Yoann Clouet (France), Sophia Armpara (Greece), Carolina Rojas (Chile), and Jorge Albuja (Ecuador)— each offering unique perspectives on how soil intersects with urban planning.
The first presentation was delivered by Yoann Clouet (iUE), contextualizing soil as a key resource that has historically been undervalued in urban settings, where the focus tends to be on infrastructure rather than ecological functions. He traced the recognition of soil’s role in sustainability to early international frameworks, such as the 1981 World Soil Charter by the FAO and subsequent UNEP policy declarations. However, these documents primarily viewed soil through an agricultural lens. Over the past 15 years, there has been a paradigm shift, with increasing recognition of soil as a provider of essential ecosystem services including water retention, heat regulation, and biodiversity support. He emphasized the limitations in current urban planning practices, where soil is often treated as a static surface layer rather than a dynamic, three-dimensional living system. Yoann warned of the pressures from soil sealing, compaction, and pollution, all of which compromise urban soil’s capacity to function effectively.
Despite these challenges, Yoann pointed to a growing, albeit fragmented, trend of incorporating soil considerations into urban planning. He highlighted several national examples, including the United Kingdom and the United States, where soil is beginning to be referenced in planning regulations. He gave special attention to the European Union’s emerging soil strategy, which includes the upcoming Soil Monitoring Law and the goal of achieving healthy soils across Europe by 2050. These efforts are supported by initiatives such as funding for 100 Living Labs focused on soil health. Yoann concluded by framing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge integration between soil scientists and urban planners.
The second speaker, Sophia Armpara, a postdoctoral researcher at TU Delft, presented insights from the EU Horizon-funded “SPADES” project (Spatial Planning and Design with Soil). She emphasized that the project seeks to reposition soil as more than a technical constraint —rather, it views soil as a living, integrative system with ecological, cultural, and infrastructural significance. The project brings together a broad consortium of researchers, policymakers, and local actors from across Europe (including iUE), using 17 pilot case studies to examine how soil-inclusive planning can be implemented in different landscapes and planning traditions.
Sophia explored how the historical treatment of soil has evolved, noting that in pre-industrial societies such as the Mayan civilization, soil was deeply integrated into spatial and agricultural planning. However, the industrial and modernist eras largely disregarded the soil’s ecological functions, favouring uniform and extractive urban designs, as exemplified by cities like Johannesburg and planned capitals like Brasília. The environmental movement of the 1970s and 1980s began to reverse this trend, leading to concepts such as Design with Nature and the emergence of landscape-based planning.
Today, SPADES is working to further this integration by developing tools and frameworks that help planners assess and incorporate soil characteristics—chemical, biological, and performance-based—into their work. A key output is the “SPADES Navigator,” a digital tool that guides planners based on soil-related challenges (e.g., erosion, contamination) or planning goals (e.g., no land take, climate adaptation). Sophia also described a participatory approach being applied in pilot cities, where local actors are asked to evaluate their familiarity with planning concepts such as resilient planning or new urbanism and assess how well these incorporate soil considerations. The findings will be used to inform a typology of planning responses across Europe.
The third presentation was delivered by Carolina Rojas, a geography researcher and Deputy Director of the Institute of Urban and Territorial Studies at the University of Chile. Carolina shared her pioneering work on urban wetlands in Chile and her instrumental role in developing the country’s landmark 2020 Urban Wetland Law (Ley de Humedales Urbanos). Rojas explained that Latin America has the highest rate of wetland loss globally—nearly 60%—due to urban sprawl and weak regulatory enforcement. She emphasized that Chile, with its vast coastline and numerous cities located near estuaries and wetlands, is particularly vulnerable to climate-related flooding and ecosystem degradation.
Carolina detailed how scientific research was key to advancing the legislation. She used the case of the Rocuant-Andalién wetland near Concepción to illustrate the problem: despite its ecological significance, existing urban plans designated large portions of the wetland for residential and industrial development. Her team conducted hydrological and economic analyses showing that conserving the wetland would mitigate flood risks and save over $55 million in potential damages. These findings, presented to the Chilean Senate, helped build cross-party support for the law.
Since its enactment, over 100 urban wetlands covering more than 13,000 hectares have been officially protected. Rojas noted that most declarations were initiated by local municipalities, often with limited technical capacity, demonstrating strong grassroots commitment to wetland conservation. She also discussed the need to scale up restoration efforts and incorporate nature-based solutions, drawing inspiration from China’s “Sponge City” initiative. Her team is now working with three coastal Chilean cities—Talcahuano, Hualpén, and Concepción—to implement urban water-sensitive designs aimed at reducing flood risks and restoring wetland systems.
The final speaker, Jorge Albuja from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, presented his research on the geotechnical characterization of soil in Quito and its implications for seismic risk. Quito is located in a high-risk seismic zone, surrounded by active volcanoes and complex fault systems. Jorge’s research, supported by the Municipality of Quito, involved an extensive field campaign including 22 boreholes and over 2,700 laboratory tests to analyze soil properties such as plasticity, shear strength, and organic content.
The study revealed that the southern part of Quito sits on highly compressible volcanic and alluvial soils, making it particularly susceptible to seismic amplification. Using simulation tools, Albuja’s team identified zones in the city that would experience up to seven times more ground shaking during an earthquake compared to more stable areas. He also found that these high-risk zones coincided with the city’s most socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods—areas with poor access to infrastructure, green spaces, and transportation. Jorge stressed that these findings highlight the urgent need for integrating soil data into urban planning and disaster preparedness strategies. He is now working with municipal departments to ensure the study informs zoning regulations and future development plans.
The webinar concluded with a brief interactive session facilitated through a Miro board. Participants from various regions contributed insights about how soil is (or is not) integrated into their local planning practices. They shared examples, challenges, and needs, including better data availability, regulatory enforcement, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The session revealed a wide variation in planning cultures and levels of integration, reinforcing the need for ongoing knowledge exchange.
In closing, Tannya Pico encouraged participants to remain engaged, fill out the iUE’s survey, and join future activities. She emphasized the goal of creating an international network of soil-aware planners, researchers, and practitioners. The event underscored a shared global need: to protect and restore soil as a foundational element of resilient, sustainable cities.
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