Horizon Europe: SPADES
Spatial Planning And DEsign with Soils

Title: SPADES – Spatial Planning And Design with Soils (101146122)
Funded by: Horizon Europe
Duration: Oct 31,2025 – May 31, 2028
Extended Abstract:
SPADES seeks to close the gap between the soil and planning sectors by co-developing new tools, strategies, and practices with local stakeholders in 17 pilot sites across Europe. These tools will help decision-makers incorporate soil conservation and ecosystem services into spatial planning at all levels, ensuring more sustainable land use, especially in areas vulnerable to urbanization, soil sealing, and intensive agriculture.
The project functions in Work Packages, which are the following:
- Work Package 1: Soil in spatial planning systems, design concepts and strategies
- Work Package 2: The potential of soil in spatial strategies
- Work Package 3: PILOTS – Co-creation of soils
- Work Package 4: Implementation of soil in spatial strategies
- Work Package 5: Soil Literacy and CDE
Key Objectives:
- O1: Understand the current integration of soil in local spatial planning systems and identify the specific challenges that ALPA’s region faces in managing soil health (WP1 & WP2)
- O2: Develop soil-inclusive spatial strategies that enhance ecosystem services and promote agroecological practices (WP3)
- O3: Implement and test the developed soil-inclusive strategies in real-world settings, focusing on agroecological practices. (WP3 & WP4)
- O4: Improve soil literacy and build capacity for sustainable land management among local actors. (WP4 & WP5)
- O5: Objective: Influence local and regional policies to better integrate soil-inclusiv practices into spatial planning frameworks. (WP5)
Expected Outcomes:
- Participate in Co-creation Processes: ALPA will co-create soil-inclusive spatial strategies for its pilot area, collaborating with planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders. This will involve contributing local knowledge on agroecological practices to ensure that the soil is effectively integrated into spatial planning processes.
- Testing and Implementation: ALPA will be responsible for implementing the soil- inclusive strategies developed during the project. This includes testing methods such as nature-based solutions (NBS), land-use hierarchy (what spacial planning tools are used and when), and rezoning to promote sustainable land use and soil conservation.
- Training and Awareness Building: Part of ALPA’s role is to improve soil literacy in the community by participating in educational and capacity-building activities. This includes raising awareness among local stakeholders about the importance of soil health for ecosystem services and sustainable land use.
- Monitoring and Reporting: ALPA will need to monitor the outcomes of the pilot projects (own, and other pilot projects happening through SPADES) and report on how soil-inclusive planning has impacted the local environment, as well as how it has been integrated into local planning practices.
- Contribute to Policy Recommendations: ALPA is expected to contribute insights from the pilot to develop policy recommendations, helping inform regional or national policies on sustainable soil management and land use planning.
1.Deltares (Netherlands) – Coordinator
2.Technische Universiteit Delft (Netherlands)
3.Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH (Germany)
4.Eigen Vermogen van het Instituut voor Landbouw- en Visserijonderzoek (Belgium)
5.Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) (France)
6.Université de Lorraine (France)
7.Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)
8.Umweltbundesamt (Austria)
9.Urbanistični Inštitut Republike Slovenije (Slovenia)
10.Stichting ISOCARP Institute Center of Urban Excellence (Netherlands)
11.Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
12.Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (France)
13.ICLEI European Secretariat GmbH (Germany)
14.Acces la Pamant pentru Agroecologie (ALPA) (Romania)
15.Asociația Urban 2020 (Romania)
16.Asociația de Dezvoltare Intercomunitară Zona Metropolitană Cluj (Romania)
17.Grenoble-Alpes Métropole (France)
18.Burst Nonprofit Kft (Hungar
19.Magistrat der Landeshauptstadt Klagenfurt (Austria)
Visibility:
Find facebook post here, LinkedIn post here, and European Project Card here.