DESIGNING THE FUNGAL CITY - Exploring mycorrhizal networks in the built environment

With restoration efforts presently being conducted above ground in urban environments to enable green spaces to flourish and thrive, we realize that we have been overlooking the critical underground actors that contribute to the wellbeing of our urban ecosystems. Humans have evicted fungi from the soil. Our obsession towards industrialization and urbanization, has led us to build underground infrastructure that has taken the place of soil based microorganisms such as mycorrhizal fungi which are vital to the survival of plant species above ground. How can fungi [re]claim space in the built environment? This talk explores how mycorrhizal networks and thus plant connectivity, can be beneficial to the design of urban ecosystems.