5/19/2016

The European Environment Agency (EEA) recently released a report entitled Soil resource efficiency in urbanised areas: Analytical framework and implications for governance. The findings show that "industrial activity, pollution and exploitation are degrading the quality of soils located in and around our cities... Efficient use of soils supported by better planning and policy making in urban areas is needed to make sure that this valuable natural resource helps our cities remain liveable and able to deal with challenges like climate change." Urban soils are important for the health of New York City, and should be treated as a resource, and protected for agricultural uses.

More research on the importance of soil systems for urban infrastructure is coming from Europe. Lancaster University lecturer Dr Jess Davies is beginning a five-year study on new soil infrastructure simulation models and analyses that span food-water-carbon services. Dr Davies says, "Soils are a physical infrastructure in our environment that provides multiple services to society and ecosystems. But we don't have the blueprints of this infrastructure. We don't understand the resilience of this infrastructure to climate change or changing soil management." Find out more about Dr Davies soil research here.