The sheer scale of urban development is truly astonishing. The above image was taken from Google Earth. The tiny dots near the top and middle are houses.

Most of this landscape is populated by massive distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and transportation infrastructure. Seeing the scale of this engineered surface at ground level is almost incomprehensible.

This is actually what the heart of America’s economy looks like, and how a significant portion of goods make it to all 333 million people. Just think about how much stuff there is in every store, shopping center, town and so on - these landscapes were inevitable!

Predictably, this landscape contains very little ecology. But if you peel back the surface just a little bit, you’ll find urban soils. They’re hidden under a few inches of concrete, disconnected from the flows and movements of Nature. Instead, water flows off concrete and asphalt into the drain and then into the lined canal, and finally into the ocean, bypassing soil entirely.

But what if we could preserve the commercial utility of this landscape while unlocking the potential of urban soil? The first step involves realizing that such an opportunity even exists.

Engaging the nuances of built and natural metabolisms as our guides to metabolism repair opportunities for true sustainability, health and wellness for all living beings.

SOILS: The life-sustaining media of exchanges. The air we breathe, the water we need, the food we eat, the nutrient flow & cycling.

CITIES: Intake and output of Resources and Waste. The system and hub of economy and market.

The Symposium is not a Conference, but a Platform for cross-disciplinary sharing and exploration. Soils are our common language, our common denominator. Soils Unite!

This Symposium is for: artists, researchers, environmental professionals, growers, community members, government representatives, citizen scientists, and anyone else who is interested in exploring topics at the intersection of the built and natural environments.

Format

This is the 9th Annual Urban Soils Symposium. Our vision is for this Symposium to not be a Conference, but instead a Platform for cross-disciplinary sharing and exploration where Soils are our common language and our common denominator. Each year since 2015, we have continuously strived to realize this vision. The format for this Symposium is intended to be equal parts: informative, collaborative, and experiential.

We continue to explore under the overarching theme of Metabolism of Cities & Soils

Morning

Content sessions that are discussion driven. There will be two formats: 10-minute presentations (with 10 minutes of Q&A), or 5-minute Lightning Talks (that include 5 minutes of Q&A). We will allot as much time to discussion as to the presentation itself.

Topics are anything related to our two principal sub-themes: TCYO$ (Take Care of Your Own $hit), and The Clay Exchange, though we define these themes broadly. They include: carbon sequestration, case studies on waste, metabolism of infrastructure and soils, nutrient cycling, health, food sovereignty, soil culture, social dynamics, history, symbolism, development, construction, and more. For an idea of the presentations and vibe, check out our 2023 page.

Afternoon

Workshops & Roundtables

The workshops topics are centered around our first two themes, with more to come:

1) TCYO$ (Take Care of Your Own $hit); opening the opportunities on multiple scales (on an individual, community, local, global scale, also on project scale) and diverse interpretations of what we could be “taking care of” or “take care doing”, for example; waste. A hard look into the “repair” opportunities for the metabolisms of our systems.

2) The Clay Exchange - Used here as a metaphor to translate the diverse exchange of knowledge and understanding between disciplines, industry, and cultures. Clay- An inexhaustible front of exploration, steeped in history, culture, traditions, art, and science. A most nuanced active seat of soils, lending a language, metaphor to people’s live, livelihoods. A recipient of extraction, a disregarded waste, a sacred element, a filler, an engineering tool.

Nano-scopic to macroscopic, a collaborator in aggregations, soils history, and health. This “mineral” component of soils, offers the platform for human exchange of stories, woes, wars, lives, discoveries, economy, and industry. Here we are encouraged by the wonder, powered by the science, art and technology of clay, to find opportunities for cross disciplinary collaboration, knowledge-seeking and opportunities for metabolism repair.

The “Take Care” Series is a series of events/workshops/project building/research collaborations etc, that will be co-created and co-hosted by USI and entities or individuals exploring the nuances of soils at the intersection of the human-built and natural world.

Registration coming soon

Friday, Nov. 22, 2024
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024

In-Person at Governors Island, New York City
All Times EST - NYC

Take the subway, bus or drive (keep in mind that parking is limited, and garages are expensive) to 10 South Street, New York, NY. Please note that you cannot bring your vehicle unto the ferry. Bicycles, scooters and skateboards are allowed on the ferry.
Train Directions: If taking the subway, use the following trains: 1 train (get off at South Ferry), W/R trains (get off at Whitehall St.), 4/5 trains (get off at Bowling Green), J/Z trains (get off at Broad St.), 2/3 trains (get off at Wall St.), A/C trains (get off at Fulton St.). Train lines arranged from closest distance to furthest distance to ferry, ranging from 3-15 minutes walking distance.
Once off the train, walk south until you see the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street, New York, NY. It is a historical Beaux Arts building from the early-20th century. The Staten Island ferry terminal is a modern building immediately west of the Battery, and not the correct building.
Ferries operated by the Trust for Governors Island run every 30 minutes from the Battery Maritime Building. The Manhattan Ferry destination is right next to the LMCC Arts Center.
NYC Ferry, the City's public ferry service, also serves Governors Island daily year-round, with stops on the Lower East Side, Wall Street, and along the Brooklyn waterfront.
Once off the ferry, walk to the LMCC Arts Center on Governors Island.

Sessions

Downloadable Agenda Coming soon

Collaborators

Privacy Statement: Privacy & Data Statement: When you submit or present your work at an in-person event or virtual event, you agree to allow NYC Urban Soils Institute (USI), and NYC Soil & Water Conservation District to feature your video/presentation/submitted work on the USI website and/or USI YouTube channel and livestream your video/presentation/submitted work if presenting live, unless explicitly requested otherwise. Full authorship credits will be attributed to the presenter and any other entities associated with the creation of the video/presentation/submitted work at the presenter’s behest. Any copyrighted content, including images, audio content and quotes, featured in the video presentation/submitted work is not claimed as property of the NYC Urban Soils Institute, NYC Soil & Water Conservation District, or event collaborators. It is the author’s responsibility to properly source, provide credit, obtain permission for all necessary content featured in their work.

If you are presenting and/or participating in the discussions or workshops held or sponsored by the NYC Urban Soils Institute, NYC Soil & Water Conservation District, or collaborators, you consent to group photos. If you choose not to be included, please inform a staff member that you do not wish to be photographed, and in the case of virtual meetings, turn off your video and use a pseudonym for your Zoom profile.