iCOSHELLs is part of the EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ which aims to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030. The project will specifically contribute to reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration, improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity, and improve soil literacy in society.

The project employs a systematic approach to build stakeholder capacities, bridge science with practical applications, deepen understanding of soil indicators, and replicate effective soil recovery methods. The ultimate goal is to develop, test, and validate scalable solutions.

The diverse geographical and climatic scope of the six Living Labs fosters the replicability of innovative solutions, addressing unique regional challenges from agricultural soil health in Southern Sweden to soil restoration in contaminated sites in Western Macedonia, Greece:

• Southern Sweden, addressing agricultural soil health problems
• Southeastern Spain (Murcia and Almeria), creating a vibrant ecosystem for sustainable agriculture
• The Basque Country, improving cross-border wetland, semi-urban and forestry soil structure
• Western Macedonia region of Greece, addressing soil restoration and reclamation in contaminated mining sites
• Northern Italy, focusing on agricultural soil health in rural, urban and semi-urban areas
• Plovdiv region of Bulgaria, addressing decreasing soil organic matter content, poor soil structure and soil biodiversity.

The Polimi team will work on the definition of sustainable soil and water management at the Politecnico di Milano Off Campus Cascina Nosedo. The MIPORE group works together with researchers of the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies and Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering.