We are pleased to announce that FERTILE SOILS, a consortium comprising of scientists from three EWUU partners (TU/e, WUR, and UU), 10 knowledge institutions, and 30 practical partners, has been awarded €5,500,000 by the NWO.

In 2023, NWO launched the call 'City and Countryside in Cohesion' as part of the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant (KIC) 2020-2023. The aim of this call is to encourage the futureproofing of the Netherlands by better connecting urban and rural areas. The same goal is pursued by the institute 4 a Circular society (i4CS) in the research programme Urban-Rural Circularity. i4CS has therefore actively worked towards forming the FERTILE SOILS consortium. The awarded budget will fund a five-year research project.

Landscape Services: Collaborating Across Urban and Rural Areas

FERTILE SOILS consists of several researchers from TU/e, WUR and UU including EWUU alliance Seed Grantees Jasper de Vries (WUR), Eveline van Leeuwen (WUR), Ilse Voskamp (WUR), Martijn Kúller (UU) and Dena Kasraian (TU/e). Together with 10 knowledge institutes and 30 practical partners, they will investigate how rural and urban areas can act together in the major challenges facing the Netherlands, including agricultural transition, solving stagnating housing construction and climate-proof water management. 

This is important because climate change, biodiversity loss, and demographic changes are having an increasing impact on both urban and rural areas. Over the past decades, governments have primarily invested in urban areas without considering the added value of the surrounding rural regions. FERTILE SOILS therefore focuses on revaluing the countryside within an integrated approach and vision for urban-rural regions, with the concept of landscape services at its core.

In the words of Jasper de Vries: “The landscape offers various services to residents of both urban and rural areas, such as space for recreation, clean air, and drinking water. By specifically examining how the location of the demand and supply of landscape services are interrelated, we aim to develop new spatial proposals where the demand and supply of these services are better aligned in both the short and long term. The challenge is to create visions, business models, and policy instruments that view the countryside and the city in cohesion, taking into account the synergies and trade-offs between the different landscape services. Our goal is to enhance this cohesion and, together with the regions, develop strengthened planning proposals and policy measures that incorporate the contribution of the landscape. For example, how can water storage in rural areas be valuable both for new forms of agriculture and for a climate-resilient city?”

Co-creation in five regions

FERTILE SOILS works closely with five regions where the circular relationship between urban and rural areas requires special attention: Groningen-Het Hogeland, Regio Zwolle, Urban Region Breda-Tilburg, Metropolitan Region Amsterdam, and Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague. By developing 'learning communities' in these regions—groups of stakeholders who want to learn and share experiences together—knowledge transfer is strongly embedded in the project. This ensures that the research remains continuously relevant and can effectively address the challenges faced by urban regions.

Within FERTILE SOILS, on one hand, more practice-oriented research will be conducted, and on the other hand, in-depth scientific research will be carried out based on practical examples and specific issues from the regions. The effectiveness of this approach was already evident during the drafting phase of the research proposal: thanks to the collaboration of all research and partnership organisations, a relevant research question and a precise approach were formulated.

Fertile Soils is made possible by the NWO grant within the City and Country in Coherence programme (Mission-driven Calls KIC 2020-2023).