Reducing soil sealing through sustainable urban and territorial design in the New European Bauhaus

Expected outcome

Projects results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Increased number of innovative and regenerative planning and spatial design solutions that apply the New European Bauhaus (NEB) principles of sustainability, aesthetics , and inclusivity to reduce soil sealing and land take, improve soil health, support food systems transformation, and strengthen climate resilience and biodiversity are available. Increased adoption, upscaling and market uptake of these solutions across diverse territorial contexts (urban, peri-urban, and rural) to enhance soil health, and benefit local communities. Effective funding models and enabling policy frameworks to support territorial transformation.

Scope

Reducing soil sealing and land take is a critical challenge for climate and water resilience, ecosystem health, biodiversity, food systems transformation, and the livability of human settlements. As urbanisation and infrastructure development expand across Europe’s urban, peri-urban, and rural areas, healthy soils are increasingly sealed, contributing to the loss of vital ecosystem services and biodiversity and increased vulnerability to climate change impacts. Despite growing awareness, there is a lack of integrated and scalable solutions to address these challenges through spatial design and planning. There is a pressing need for solutions that apply the New European Bauhaus (NEB) principles of sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusivity to develop holistic approaches that restore soil function while enabling regenerative and inclusive territorial development. Proposals are expected to address all of the following: Develop innovative, regenerative and place-based planning and spatial design solutions that prevent soil sealing or promote the unsealing of currently sealed soils, improve soil health, support food systems transformation and enhance climate resilience and biodiversity (e.g., by mitigating urban heat islands and improving water management). These solutions should integrate nature-based , human-centred and regenerative approaches (e.g., ecosystem restoration, permeable pavements, green roofs, shared and community gardens, or urban agriculture); Demonstrate each one of these solutions developed in at least three neighbourhoods (i.e. at least one in urban area, one in peri-urban and one in rural area) located in different Member States and/or Associated Countries; Develop plans for the upscale of the solutions developed; Implement participatory and co-creation processes as well as cross-sector collaboration with different stakeholders (e.g., artists, architects, startups, engineers, planners and territorial managers, local authorities, NGOs, researchers, citizens and communities) to integrate creative, scientific, and local knowledge in the design of the proposed solutions; Ensure the transferability of successful solutions across diverse territorial contexts (urban, peri-urban, and rural) in EU Member States and Associated Countries by fostering knowledge exchange and building capacity for broader adoption; Monitor and evaluate the impacts of the proposed solutions using well-defined indicators on soil health and soil sealing, and urban healthy city indicators (e.g., those in line with the Nature Restoration Regulation and those developed by the World Health Organization, WHO). Ensure that data collected informs policy and future scaling efforts; Develop innovative funding models to mobilize financing opportunities, and engage investors and businesses to support the long-term sustainability and replicability of implemented solutions;

What this means for cities and regions

Municipal and regional planning departments working with designers and landscape architects under the New European Bauhaus principles. Topic budget €15 million; 2 grants expected; around €7.5 million per project. Opens 5 May 2027; closes 15 September 2027. Soil sealing is measured from space: the Copernicus imperviousness layers give every city a consistent baseline and a way to track de-sealing.