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Urban green infrastructure and urban forests: a case study of the Metropolitan Area of Milan

Author

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  • Giovanni Sanesi
  • Giuseppe Colangelo
  • Raffaele Lafortezza
  • Enrico Calvo
  • Clive Davies

Abstract

Rapid expansion of urban built-up areas since the 1950s has led to the Milan region becoming one of the major metropolitan areas of Europe. This has been accompanied by significant structural changes to urban and peri-urban landscapes and fragmentation of formerly contiguous green corridors by the distribution of new urban forms such as housing and transport infrastructure. The need to address the loss of green space was first recognised by policy-makers at the end of the 1970s and in due course, this has led to new policies and laws. These policies included the introduction of the Milan metropolitan parks approach that, nowadays, is represented by numerous urban forests that have become the backbone of green infrastructure (GI) creation and management. In the last decades, a total of 10 000 hectares of new forests and green systems have been created. Boscoincittà and Parco Nord Milano are the best known examples of this approach aimed to redevelop the neighbourhoods of some suburbs of Milan to create multifunctional green spaces (forests, grasslands, wetlands, river corridor, and allotment gardens) in lands previously industrial or uncultivated. The creation and management of urban forests has become the backbone of GI creation and management in the Metropolitan Area of Milan. In recent decades, trends of land use change have been characterised by a rapid decrease in natural and agricultural areas and an increase in artificial and urban structures. Although the phenomenon is growing rapidly in this area, there is evidence of an opposite social and environmental trend highlighting the importance of GI positively affecting urban quality of life. Recent policies and management plans are dealing with this evidence by turning their attention to expanding green areas and infrastructure. The purpose of our investigation is to revisit effective measures designed to increase the quality and quantity of UGI in the metropolitan region under study. To this end, we assessed land use changes and described the potentialities and impacts of policies on such phenomena. The study analyses the main elements of UGI in the Italian context within the framework of the European Union Life + project called Emonfur, a research programme involving, inter alia, the establishment of an Urban Forest inventory and impact analysis of ecosystem services in the Metropolitan Area of Milan. Our research has allowed us to determine the current status of key sites by monitoring the policy and planning decisions that resulted in their development. We believe that such an analysis can pave the way to understand future land-use dynamics not only in northern Italy but in other metropolitan territories as well.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Sanesi & Giuseppe Colangelo & Raffaele Lafortezza & Enrico Calvo & Clive Davies, 2017. "Urban green infrastructure and urban forests: a case study of the Metropolitan Area of Milan," Landscape Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 164-175, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:clarxx:v:42:y:2017:i:2:p:164-175
    DOI: 10.1080/01426397.2016.1173658
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    1. Rung-Jiun Chou & Chen-Ting Wu & Feng-Tzu Huang, 2017. "Fostering Multi-Functional Urban Agriculture: Experiences from the Champions in a Revitalized Farm Pond Community in Taoyuan, Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-24, November.
    2. Sorin Geacu & Ines Grigorescu, 2022. "Historical Changes in Urban and Peri-Urban Forests: Evidence from the Galați Area, Romania," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-23, November.
    3. Ugolini, Francesca & Massetti, Luciano & Pearlmutter, David & Sanesi, Giovanni, 2021. "Usage of urban green space and related feelings of deprivation during the COVID-19 lockdown: Lessons learned from an Italian case study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    4. Elin Slätmo & Kjell Nilsson & Eeva Turunen, 2019. "Implementing Green Infrastructure in Spatial Planning in Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-21, April.
    5. Andrea Colantoni & Ilaria Zambon & Maria Gras & Enrico Maria Mosconi & Alessandra Stefanoni & Luca Salvati, 2018. "Clustering or Scattering? The Spatial Distribution of Cropland in a Metropolitan Region, 1960–2010," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-12, July.
    6. Kukulska-Kozieł, Anita & Szylar, Marta & Cegielska, Katarzyna & Noszczyk, Tomasz & Hernik, Józef & Gawroński, Krzysztof & Dixon-Gough, Robert & Jombach, Sándor & Valánszki, István & Filepné Kovács, Kr, 2019. "Towards three decades of spatial development transformation in two contrasting post-Soviet cities—Kraków and Budapest," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 328-339.
    7. Hua Xia & Shidong Ge & Xinyu Zhang & Gunwoo Kim & Yakai Lei & Yang Liu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Green Infrastructure in an Agricultural Peri-Urban Area: A Case Study of Baisha District in Zhengzhou, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-21, July.
    8. Yilong Hao & Kai Ding & Yaoyang Xu & Yuting Tang & Dong Liu & Gang Li, 2020. "States, Trends, and Future of Aquaponics Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-14, September.
    9. Mele, Emanuele & Filieri, Raffaele & De Carlo, Manuela, 2023. "Pictures of a crisis. Destination marketing organizations’ Instagram communication before and during a global health crisis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    10. Jiang Du & Mengqin Zhao & Ming Zeng & Kezhen Han & Huaping Sun, 2020. "Spatial Effects of Urban Agglomeration on Energy Efficiency: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, April.
    11. Giulia Capotorti & Vera De Lazzari & Marta Alós Ortí, 2019. "Local Scale Prioritisation of Green Infrastructure for Enhancing Biodiversity in Peri-Urban Agroecosystems: A Multi-Step Process Applied in the Metropolitan City of Rome (Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Munyati, C. & Drummond, J.H., 2020. "Loss of urban green spaces in Mafikeng, South Africa," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    13. Robert Popek & Beata Fornal-Pieniak & Filip Chyliński & Magdalena Pawełkowicz & Jan Bobrowicz & Dominika Chrzanowska & Natalia Piechota & Arkadiusz Przybysz, 2022. "Not Only Trees Matter—Traffic-Related PM Accumulation by Vegetation of Urban Forests," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, March.
    14. Herath Mudiyanselage Malhamige Sonali Dinesha Herath & Takeshi Fujino & Mudalige Don Hiranya Jayasanka Senavirathna, 2023. "A Review of Emerging Scientific Discussions on Green Infrastructure (GI)-Prospects towards Effective Use of Urban Flood Plains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    15. Magdalena Szczepańska & Anna Gałecka-Drozda & Agnieszka Wilkaniec, 2023. "Green Space at New Housing Estates: Flat Price Versus Accessibility to Good Quality Greenery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, June.
    16. Mahla Tayefi Nasrabadi, 2022. "How do nature-based solutions contribute to urban landscape sustainability?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 576-591, January.
    17. Canhui Cheng & Zhong Xing & Lin Ye & Junyue Yang & Zhuoming Xie, 2024. "Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Landscape Pattern Gradient Transformation of Small-Scale Agroforestry Patches in Mountain Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-26, July.
    18. Irena Niedźwiecka-Filipiak & Justyna Rubaszek & Jerzy Potyrała & Paweł Filipiak, 2019. "The Method of Planning Green Infrastructure System with the Use of Landscape-Functional Units (Method LaFU) and its Implementation in the Wrocław Functional Area (Poland)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-23, January.

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