We are pleased to announce that FERTILE SOILS, a consortium comprising 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 future-proofing 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, led by Jasper de Vries, Associate Professor in the Landscape Architecture and Spatial Planning group at Wageningen University & Research. The awarded budget will fund a five-year research project.
i4CS and FERTILE SOILS
Within this consortium, Jasper de Vries is collaborating with i4CS seed grantees Eveline van Leeuwen (WUR), Ilse Voskamp (WUR), Martijn Kuller (UU), and Dena Kasraian (TU/e). Sacha Tensen, Programme Manager at i4CS, supported the consortium by bringing together EWUU researchers, identifying external partners, and organising and facilitating consortium meetings.
i4CS will continue to provide support throughout the research project. Willem Janssen, who is scientifically responsible for the theme Urban-Rural Circularity within i4CS, will contribute to FERTILE SOILS. His involvement ensures knowledge exchanges with the Urban-Rural Circularity research programme, enabling the project to respond to opportunities for practical application and follow-up research.
Landscape Services: Collaborating Across Urban and Rural Areas
In addition to the researchers from TU/e, WUR, and UU, FERTILE SOILS includes 10 knowledge institutions and 30 practical partners. The consortium will investigate how rural and urban areas can collaborate to tackle major challenges in the Netherlands, including the agricultural transition, resolving the stagnation in housing development, and climate-resilient 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.
Main Applicant
Dr. Ir. Jasper R. de Vries (WUR)
Co-Applicants
Prof. Dr. Martha Bakker (WUR), Prof. Dr. Sanda Lenzholzer (WUR), Prof. Dr. Ir Eveline van Leeuwen (WUR), Prof. Dr. Ir. Joks Janssen (UvT), Prof. Dr. Mr. Willem Janssen (UU), Prof. Mr. Dr. Frank Groothuijse (UU), Prof. Dr. Caspar van den Berg (RUG), Prof. Dr. Tialda Haartsen (RUG), Prof. Dr. Ir. Martijn van der Heide (Van Hall Larenstein), Dr. Liesbeth Rijsdijk (Windesheim), Dr. Ted Veldkamp (Hogeschool Rotterdam), Dr. Ir. Ron Methorst (Aeres), Dr. Martijn Kuller (UU), Dr. Ilse Voskamp (WUR), Dr. Mariëlle Beenackers (Erasmus MC), Dr. Ir. Dena Kasraian (TU/e), Dr. Mans Schepers (RUG), Dr. Koen Salemink (RUG), MSc. Jos Ulijn (Van Hall Larenstein), Ir. Msc. Jonas Martens (Hogeschool Rotterdam), Dr. Vincent Merckx (Naturalis), MSc. Karina Neef (Windesheim), Ing. MEd. Anne van Vulpen (Windesheim), Dr. Maarten Punt (Windesheim), Ir. MSc. Henk Renting (Aeres), Dr. Ir. Derk jan Stobbelaar (Van Hall Larenstein), Dr. Nikki Brand (TU Delft).