Lukas Madl

After studying environmental management and bioresources at the University of Life Sciences in Vienna, his career took a decisive turn towards sustainable urban development thanks to a research internship at Oikodrom, an Austrian research center focused on improving the urban environment through citizen participation. This internship allowed him to tackle the challenges of urban development in a context of minimizing environmental impact and ecological transition, particularly within the framework of the European SYNCITY project. The experience gained reinforced his desire to work on solutions for designing resilient and regenerative cities, and guided his decision to pursue a master's degree in Urban Agriculture and Green Cities at the UniLaSalle Polytechnic Institute in Rouen. During his studies, he developed a particular interest in the integration of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions in urban planning.

Interest in the ecological rehabilitation and restoration of degraded areas took shape during an internship at the Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park, where a planning methodology for the renaturation of industrial wastelands was developed. This methodology provides suggestions to project owners and contractors for designing the transformation of such sites according to ecological criteria aimed at improving ecosystem functions and biodiversity levels. This experience directly informed the master's thesis, which focused on the renaturation of brownfield sites and how these areas can contribute to a better quality of life for human and non-human inhabitants of urban areas.

These various experiences led to a Cifre-format PhD, in collaboration with Lab'Urba, OCS AUSser, and the AREP agency, located in Paris. This PhD focuses on integrating ecological knowledge about soils into urban renaturation practices. The main objective of the research is to analyze the impact of land use on the implementation of urban renaturation projects and to evaluate which techniques and methods are used to improve the ecological functions of urban soils. This work contributes to research on the transformations needed to meet national “zero net artificialization” objectives.