Rethinking the Urban–Rural Relationships and Productive Urban Landscapes

This chapter reflects upon how lessons from past urban planning experiences can inform current debates on the relationships between the city and the countryside and on productive urban landscapes. Today, the extent of urbanisation has put in check categorical definitions of the urban and the rural. Besides, productive urban landscapes have been posited as instruments for the positive transformation of the agricultural sector and to approach territorial fragility while promoting social cohesion, food security, and broader environmental and economic benefits. The chapter initially discusses key questions related to urban–rural planning and food production in cities. This discussion is followed by the analysis of cross-cutting themes: domains of human activity, the question of reconnection, transcalarity, and resilience and sustainability of food systems, and food security. Findings suggest that an efficient food system is both sustainable and resilient. Connecting the different scales of the territory from regional to local, focusing on local sources, and creating a flexible and adaptable system would allow productive urban landscapes to adjust any environmental, social, or cultural condition guaranteeing both the rights of the individuals as much as of the public at large.