No. 6 (2025)

Soil, as both a physical stratum and a cultural agent, is at the center of ongoing environmental pressures driven by pollution, industrial agriculture, extraction, and accumulation. The health and depletion of soil signals profound ecological and socio-economic challenges, in delta regions and beyond. The over extraction of water, industrial pollution, monocultural farming practices, and extractivism of critical raw materials/ raw minerals for energy production are endangering the capacity of soil and a condition for human and ecological health. Yet, we argue that degradation and depletion is not an irreversible trajectory. This issue of the Journal of Delta Urbanism critically examines soil through two complementary perspectives: its stratigraphic composition and its evolving cultural meaning at moments of intervention and change. By exploring the interconnections between soil and water-, food-, and energy- landscapes, we highlight the tensions between exhaustion and renewal, degradation and restoration. The central thesis of this issue is that degradation and depletion is not a singular or inevitable endpoint; rather, regenerative and restorative actions of care hold the potential to reshape future healthy landscapes. Through interdisciplinary research, design explorations, and policy discussions, this volume seeks to redefine our relationship with soil not only as a site of extraction but as a foundation for a new ecology of resilience and repair.