Urban vegetable gardens: a resilience strategy between past and future in the case of Milan

Vegetable gardens in contemporary cities testify the persistence of a connection with nature and the productive cycles of the land, despite the threats of uncontrolled urban expansion. Urban agricultural practices of the past evolved into a subsistence strategy during the Industrial Era, and later into a means of resistance during World War II. Today, vegetable gardens are included among strategies aimed at reintroducing nature into cities, enhancing urban resilience, and fostering social cohesion. The city of Milan serves as a compelling case study for tracing the continuity of urban agricultural practices from past to present. A continuous thread links Milan’s agricultural past, with monastic orchards and family gardens, to the centuries of industrial and urban growth, during which urban gardens were largely displaced by speculative interests. In the present day, the need of adapting to climate change has led to the rediscovery of this traditional practice as a form of resilience, transforming historical farmsteads into cultural hubs. This study retraces the history of urban agriculture and vegetable gardens in Milan through cartographic analysis, as well as literary and iconographic sources, to contribute to anchoring contemporary practices within the city’s cultural and identity framework.