Downscaling Food System for the ‘Public City’ Regeneration—An Experience of Social Agriculture in Trieste

Abstract

The relationship between food and cities has been recognized as an area of interest for urban planning only recently, thanks to measures adopted at various government levels, locally and internationally. Rethinking the processes of food production, distribution, sale, consumption and recycling in a sustainable and socially equitable way can contribute to making cities fairer, healthier and more resilient to climate change. Starting from these premises, our contribution explores, in particular, the hypothesis that rethinking the relationship between food and urban space can provide an opportunity to promote socio-spatial regeneration processes of public housing neighbourhoods, through projects and actions that involve their inhabitants. This hypothesis is argued starting from a project experience developed in Borgo San Sergio, a district of Trieste, Italy, which aims to consolidate and enhance practices of cultivation and distribution of food, but also of environmental education. The aim of the project is to create a short supply chain in which social agricultural enterprises are involved. The critical reflection stemming from the case study outlines some possible fields of intervention for an urban planning practice aimed at bringing the food system back to an urban and local scale—downscaling—with social and environmental justice goals consistent with the European Green Deal.

Vertical Farm: from Agriculture to a New City Architecture

“…It is, in the multiple forms of urban and peri-urban agriculture that it is possible to recognize the potential to make agricultural production systems more sustainable and cities more resilient (de Zeeuw, Drechsel, 2015;Mougeot 2005). Urban projects that include traditional forms of agriculture can improve the ecological conditions of urban spaces, contribute to guarantee the health of inhabitants, contrasting social inequalities (Basso, Di Biagi, Crupi, 2020;Marino et alii, 2020). Looking at the European context, the debate on forms of intensive urban and indoor agriculture, free from the land factor, that utilize height density as a productivity aspect, appears less evolved.…”

Urban Transition and the Return of Neighbourhood Planning. Questioning the Proximity Syndrome and the 15-Minute City

“…The objectives underlying the 15-Minute City also prompt us to include new facilities in the established set of basic standards and services. The reference is, for example, to infrastructures for sustainable production of energy and management of waste cycles [158]; spaces for the cultivation and trade of agricultural products within 'short supply chains' [159]; and areas for the development of ecosystem services, through nature-based solutions and green and blue networks [160]. Again, their fulfilment is locally based but cannot be limited to this scale.…”

Going high! The pros and cons of city verticalization

“…It is, in the multiple forms of urban and peri-urban agriculture that it is possible to recognize the potential to make agricultural production systems more sustainable and cities more resilient (de Zeeuw, Drechsel, 2015;Mougeot 2005). Urban projects that include traditional forms of agriculture can improve the ecological conditions of urban spaces, contribute to guarantee the health of inhabitants, contrasting social inequalities (Basso, Di Biagi, Crupi, 2020;Marino et alii, 2020). Looking at the European context, the debate on forms of intensive urban and indoor agriculture, free from the land factor, that utilize height density as a productivity aspect, appears less evolved.…”