Affiliation:
1. Department of Agrochemistry and Environment, University Miguel Hernández of Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain
Abstract
The number of city residents worldwide is increasing at the same that soil consumption around cities, which can be mitigated using technosols. Urban areas need to provide a healthy environment for residents, but this is threatened by climate change. Mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change does not involve one-size-fits-all global solutions; cities face varying economic and social contexts. Cities need to offer ecosystem services in order to operate as healthy urban ecosystems. The urban soils’ environmental services are often overlooked, leading to public administrations having little to no awareness about land management policies and ecosystem services. Technosols, artificial or human altered soils, have the potential to provide the same ecosystem benefits as natural soils and do not require as much time to develop in order to perform their functions. Additionally, technosols have the potential to enhance the circular economy using waste materials. In this sense, policy makers should incorporate urban technosols as a strategy to enhance the health of cities and address climate change. Our perspective on soils in urban areas needs to be altered, as technosols should be included in urban policies, have the potential to serve as a crucial component in providing ecosystem services and acting as a carbon sink and enhance urban well-being.
Funder
University Miguel Hernández of Elche
Reference76 articles.
1. World Bank (2024, June 19). Urban Development. Last Updated: 3 April 2023. Available online: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment.
2. The anthropogenic sealing of soils in urban areas;Scalancghe;Landsc. Urban Plan.,2008
3. Land recycling, food security and technosols;J. Geogr. Res.,2021
4. Nickayin, S.S., Perrone, F., Ermini, B., Quaranta, G., Salvia, R., Gambella, F., and Egidi, G. (2021). Soil Quality and Peri-Urban Expansion of Cities: A Mediterranean Experience (Athens, Greece). Sustainability, 13.
5. Phillips, M. (2024, June 19). Dense, more compact cities help combat climate change, inequality. Urban Land Magazine, Available online: https://urbanland.uli.org/planning-design/dense-compact-cities-help-combat-climate-change-inequality.