Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA)
Department
Landscape Architecture
First Advisor
Suzanne Mathew
Second Advisor
Gavin Zeitz
Abstract
Soil is in crisis. A third of the world’s soils are already degraded, and by 2050 that number may reach 90%, threatening biodiversity, climate stability, and food security. Urban soils, in particular, carry the layered records of industrial residue and environmental mistakes, disproportionately impacting immigrant and racialized communities.
The thesis asks what happens when landscape architecture begins from the root up, taking soil as both problem and possibility. Social Soils takes on the case study of Greenpoint, where both organic and inorganic contaminants in the soil such as lead, arsenic, PAHs and VOCs pose serious health risks to the inhabitants. The project explores how disturbed ground can be socially engaged with in efforts to repair and reimagine our relationship with our Old Friend, soil.
Recommended Citation
Dar, Manal, "Social Soils: Reclaiming the Urban Pedosphere" (2026). Masters Theses. 1671.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1671
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