Re-programming agrarian urbanism in South Milan. The peri-urban question

This article introduces the concepts of deprogramming and re-programming to analyse how peri-urban agrarian spaces in the Milanese countryside have been socially, economically, and environmentally simplified over time. Although this has occurred as an unintended phenomenon, it continues to obstruct efforts to revitalise agrarian territories. Through the case of Milan and two selected projects in its peri-urban countryside, this paper explores the role of planning and design disciplines in the context of agrarian urbanism and peri-urban landscapes, with particular attention to their relationship with land tenancy. Land issues are analysed as a historically embedded dimension that proves critical in hindering the socio-ecological transition of these territories and their food systems. The paper employs ethnographic field methods to investigate emerging forms of agrarian urbanism and to deepen the understanding of peri-urban agrarian territories.