Du sol foncier au sol vivant

Abstract

Soil is a complex and precious ecosystem that must be conserved, preserved and enhanced. However, our activity as landscape architects and urban planners poses a real problem for the different actors in urban and regional planning in considering the soil as a fundamental issue. This article is based on our practice of urban planning and landscape projects with public and private sector clients. We start by proposing a new representation of the soil as a tool in landscape architecture: the "land" becomes "living soil". The soil as a vaguely characterised two-dimensional surface which currently conditions the transformation of territories takes on essential ecological functions thus challenging our system of values and societal aspirations. Starting from this theoretical framework, we conduct two case studies: a regional development project for which we provided assistance to the contracting authority and an urban planning project we were in charge of. They illustrate the obstacles to be addressed and identify perspectives for collective work.

Keywords

• living soil
• land
• landscape
• urban planning
• governance