On 8 October 2025, the SpongeScapes project held its third SpongeLab workshop in Loosbroek, hosted by the Regional Water Authority Aa en Maas. This workshop marked an important milestone in the co-design process for the Aa-dal Noord case study, one of SpongeScapes’ 14 pilot areas across Europe.
Building on the progress made in the first two workshops, where local stakeholders identified challenges and developed two future scenarios for 2050 – a moderate and a transformative one – this session focused on turning those visions into map-based designs using the new GeoDesign tool, developed and tailored to the Aa dal Noord area by integrating insights from workshop 1 and workshop 2.
The GeoDesign tool integrates environmental data, land-use information, and stakeholder input to explore how different land management strategies could enhance the “sponge functioning” of the landscape – its ability to absorb, store, and release water.
Participants used the tool’s interactive features to co-design “sponge futures” for 2035 and 2050, exploring how potential interventions could impact the sponge functioning, biodiversity, landscape aesthetics, and crop production to inform decisions about the region's future while maintaining its landscape character.
This hands-on exercise helped stakeholders visualize trade-offs, identify priority areas, and collaboratively design future visions of a sponge landscape, supported by the interactive GeoDesign tool for real-time impact assessment and spatial design.