Of visions and practice: interpreting contemporary forms of agrarian urbanism

This paper investigates how contemporary visionary practices of agrarian urbanism can contribute to urban-rural transformations, addressing planetary agro-urban challenges. The research begins with a review of historical avant-garde proposals, before shifting to the study of two contemporary cases: Almere Oosterwold and Düsseldorf’s Hamm Quarter. These cases are analysed using the ‘competing directions’ model proposed by Marot (2019), chosen as a method for interpreting Western and contemporary visionary experiments. The paper discusses the role of proposals by analysing their visions, spatial configurations, and socio-political implications. The final hypothesis is that, despite some limitations, these utopian proposals can serve as tools to influence contemporary planning and design, especially in the context of planetary urbanisation.