Humus Economicus: Soil Blindness and the Value of 'Dirt' in Urbanized Landscapes
A vital necessity for the continuation of life on earth, soil is an underexplored feature of today’s planetary challenges in need of creative intervention. The life-sustaining skin of topsoil is disappearing rapidly on a global scale, to an important extent through soil sealing. This project inquiries into the value and future of soil in urbanized landscapes and attends to soil as a collaborator, with potential to trigger synergistic effects across several SDGs.
A vital necessity for the continuation of life on earth, soil is an underexplored feature of today’s planetary challenges in need of creative intervention. The life-sustaining skin of topsoil is disappearing
rapidly on a global scale posing a severe challenge to sustainability and near-future generations.
The project inquiries into the value and future of soil in urbanized landscapes and attends to soil as a collaborator, with potential to trigger synergistic effects across several SDGs. Through an environmental humanities approach, it answers a call for novel transdisciplinary approaches to societal challenges in the face of climate change, at the intersection of research, civil society, integrative learning, and art/aesthetics. In addition, it taps into the understudied potential of taking art seriously for achieving Agenda 2030.
The project mobilizes a team of artists, environmental-, urban-, gender-, and heritage scholars, and
connects with a growing number of soil stewards and key stakeholders, from farmers to planners, to
counteract soil blindness; map synergy effects; decolonize conceptualizations of nature; transform
public knowledge and imaginaries of soils; and catalyze societal change. Key outcomes include e.g.
new methods for work on the SDGs for stakeholders; transdisciplinary environmental art and
humanities events, and strategically published peer-reviewed articles that establish soils' critical role
in achieving Agenda 2030.
Participating: National Historical Museums
Funding: Formas
Projektperiod: 2021-2024