ABSTRACT

In a city marked by extractive histories and climate change, soil tells a story of both injury and possibility. Urban soils, particularly in frontline communities, have been deeply impacted by the city’s industrial legacy, and the 2025 LA Wildfires exacerbated this contamination crisis. 
 
Lauren Bon and Metabolic Studio have spent the last decade examining this history on the LA River’s industrial corridor. Un-development 1, a former tow yard, has been transformed using such bioremediation strategies as asphalt removal, phytoextraction, and soil building, and longitudinal measurements to demonstrate a significant reduction in lead concentrations. 
 
We are now investigating persistent lead contamination across Los Angeles, using community-gathered soil samples from before and after the 2025 wildfires, and site-specific ash collected in the fires’ aftermath. A map visualizing this data will demonstrate the impact of legacy lead pollution while also tracking elevated post-fire contamination levels in burn areas and adjacent downstream zones. 
 
We argue that natural disturbances—such as landslides, wildfires, and floods—can also be reframed as opportunities, addressing some of these inequities. Our project Moving Mountains sees Topanga Canyon landslide soil, once considered waste, as both a symbolic and literal substrate for healing. Rich in microbial and fungal life, this soil is being diverted to highly-contaminated urban sites, the first step in a holistic approach to community bioremediation. 
 
As part of the USC symposium Soak It Up, this work will be presented as a mobile workshop at Un-development 1 with Lauren Bon, Diego Zapata, and Kelly Majewski. By embracing disturbance, Moving Mountains redistributes ecological wealth—soil, water, and community—as a shared commons, and offers a new way to prepare for our future, not by rebuilding what was, but instead cultivating what resilience could be.