Changes in Vision - Urban Landscapes: Environmental Networks and Quality of Life - page 58

A multifunctional, innovative activity grows out of the expression “ urban
agriculture ,” but it is rich because of its reference to a past of medieval gar-
dens, in which ethics and aesthetics coexisted [21]. Urban agriculture there-
fore presents different values 15 :

1. Social (agro-citizenship), in that it provides opportunities for: intergenera-

tional and interethnic social aggregation during free time; the creation of
a community; partial economic support for families (food integration and
sale of garden products); quality of food in terms of pleasure and health;
and the possibility of protecting the territory.

2. Environmental, in that it provides possibilities for: living outdoors with a

respect for nature (biological agricultural practices); experimenting with
forms of environmental education (culture of recycling, respect for the
environment); supporting the biological cycles of air, water, and land.

3. Cultural, in that it favors the rediscovery of biological rhythms and manu-

al labor.

Finally, urban agriculture is suggested as a tool for periphery requalifica-
tion , redesigning free areas and reconnecting them to green systems and
countryside systems , implementing urban greenery and biopermeability,
introducing new public spaces, and preventing the “ concept of collective place
[from being] identified entirely with the idea of closed, controlled spaces
aimed at consumption ” [22]. In this framework , peri-urban agriculture
becomes the tool for redefining the territory, even using the force of historical
memory wrapped in the traditions, uses, and values that permeate local culture
[23]. New rural areas become a part of the so-called “ drosscape ” [24], an
archipelago of natural spaces that are now wedged into the urban fabric of the
consolidated city and urban dispersion, and often also spread out in a point-
like fashion. Some authors [25] also point out that urban agriculture in the city,
by helping to maintain biodiversity, could favor the development of ecosystem
services 16 that lead to human well-being. Not only that. The beneficiaries of
these services could also draw out economic advantages [26] by starting new
activities and turning them into an economic advantage.

15 For a closer look: Bailkey M and Nasr J (2000) From Brownfields to Greenfields: producing food
in North American cities. Community Food Security News; http://it.paesaggioix.wikia.com/wiki/Or-
ti Urbani; Urban agriculture in Vancouver: Greenskins Lab, Sviluppo sostenibile, Energia Rinnov-
abile e Nuova Estetica Urbana. http://www.genitronsviluppo.com/2009/08/28/fattoria-urbana-agri-
coltura-urbana.
16 For more information: Cataldi M, Morri E, Scolozzi R et al (2009) Stima dei servizi ecosistemi-
ci a scala regionale come supporto a strategie di sostenibilità. In: Proceedings from the 19 th S.It.E
Congress, From the Alpine peaks to the marine depths 15-18 September Bolzano; Costanza R,
d'Arge, R, de Groot R et al (1997) The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capi-
tal. Nature 15, 387:253-260; Costanza R (2008) Ecosystem services: Multiple classification
systems are needed. Biological Conservation 141:350-352; Dziegielewska D, Tietenberg T,