For nearly four years, the ArchiSols project brought together researchers, archivists, public administrations, soil pollution experts, community organisations and citizens around a shared objective: to better understand the history of Brussels' soils in order to improve their present and future management.
By combining administrative archives, cadastral data, citizen testimonies and innovative geomatics tools, the project demonstrated the value of historical knowledge in identifying environmental risks, documenting past land uses and supporting informed planning decisions.
On 9 October 2026, around fifty participants joined the project's team of co-researchers at USquare (Ixelles) for the closing event of the ArchiSols research project. The event provided an opportunity to present the project's key findings, share practical experiences from project partners, and explore future perspectives for soil management and the use of environmental archives.
The programme was organised into two complementary sessions. The morning session featured a concise presentation of the project's main results by Stéphane Demeter and Marie Tielemans, aimed primarily at an institutional audience. During the afternoon session, several co-researchers presented more detailed aspects of their work, followed by a round-table discussion bringing together four experts from different sectors. Researchers, archivists, representatives of regional and local administrations, consultancy firms, participating citizens and architecture students all contributed to the discussions.
The various presentations highlighted the many dimensions of the project and sparked insightful exchanges with participants.