Urban Agricultures: Spatial, Social and Environmental Transformations in Rome

Urban gardening represents a phenomenon that is becoming more and more significant in many countries around the world. It often takes place in interstitial and abandoned areas that are ecologically re-planned by institutions or by active social groups. Community gardens entail a variety of sustainable environmental practices. Community gardens work as social incubators too: they can be interpreted as public spaces that are potentially able to stimulate inclusion, solidarity and social bonding by involving people in shared activities related to cultivation. This study is focused on the city of Rome where most community gardens are the result of informal appropriation practices. These forms of social mobilization can potentially increase the environmental and social quality of life in highly urbanized environments. But they need to be supported. In this perspective they represent a crucial challenge for planning. What role could institutions play?What kind of tensions need to be explored between social practices and institutional powers? Can public policy promote urban inclusion by legitimizing these self-guiding society expressions?