Urban regeneration is a system of strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of the climate crisis, protecting biodiversity and developing a sense of community. Indeed, the practice of urban agriculture is spreading fast in many cities. However, urban agriculture is limited by the lack of space in increasingly populated cities and by the absence of an effective use of urban green. In many European cities, only a small percentage of urban green is accessible to the public. The remaining portion consists of private green areas, which, however, have an exclusively ornamental function. While the existent literature reports urban agriculture initiatives on public soil, almost nothing emerges regarding private green areas, and, specifically, those located in condominium common spaces. Therefore, this thesis aims to examine how such underused spaces can be repurposed into urban agriculture projects. The goals are multiple: to identify the main stakeholders involved in the creation of condominium gardens, residents’ level of awareness, their motivations and the main challenges that may emerge. A series of semi-structured qualitative interviews (n=22) show that the main stakeholders are condominium residents and administrators, and that their level of awareness is relatively low. The most recurring motivations are personal interest and environmental concern, while the main challenges relate to the diversity of interests and to technical and economic barriers. The analysis of the results has then led the authors to develop a framework for effective management models in condominium settings. This study hopes to stimulate a broader and more proactive debate that will encourage further research to make urban agriculture a more viable and widespread reality.
La rigenerazione urbana è un complesso di strategie volte a mitigare gli effetti nefasti dell’emergenza climatica, proteggere la biodiversità e sviluppare un senso di comunità. La pratica dell’agricoltura urbana si sta diffondendo rapidamente in numerose città. Tuttavia, è limitata dalla mancanza di spazio in città sempre più popolose e da un uso inefficace utilizzo del verde urbano. In molte città europee solo una piccola percentuale di verde urbano è accessibile al pubblico mentre la rimanente porzione è costituita da verde privato che ha funzione esclusivamente ornamentale. Se la letteratura tratta l’agricoltura urbana su suolo pubblico, quasi nulla emerge relativamente alle aree verdi private, e in particolare a quelle site in spazi condominiali comuni. Questa tesi intende esaminare come tali spazi sottoutilizzati possano essere riconvertiti in progetti di agricoltura urbana. Gli obiettivi di questo studio sono molteplici: identificare i principali stakeholder nella creazione di orti condominiali, valutare il livello di consapevolezza dei residenti, le loro motivazioni e le criticità che possono emergere. Una serie di interviste qualitative semi-strutturate (n=22) ha rivelato che i principali stakeholder sono i residenti e gli amministratori condominiali, e che il loro livello di consapevolezza è relativamente basso. Le motivazioni più frequentemente riscontrate sono interesse personale e preoccupazione ambientale mentre le difficoltà principali sono legate alla pluralità di interessi e alle barriere di natura tecnica ed economica. L’analisi dei risultati ha poi condotto gli autori a sviluppare un framework per la creazione di efficaci modelli di gestione nei condomini. Questo studio auspica di stimolare un dibattito più ampio e fattivo, che incoraggi ulteriori ricerche per rendere l’agricoltura urbana una realtà più diffusa e percorribile.
Can private green areas play a part in urban regeneration? A study into urban agriculture applied to condominium gardens
COLI, ROAN;HOFFER, OSCAR
2023/2024
Abstract
Urban regeneration is a system of strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of the climate crisis, protecting biodiversity and developing a sense of community. Indeed, the practice of urban agriculture is spreading fast in many cities. However, urban agriculture is limited by the lack of space in increasingly populated cities and by the absence of an effective use of urban green. In many European cities, only a small percentage of urban green is accessible to the public. The remaining portion consists of private green areas, which, however, have an exclusively ornamental function. While the existent literature reports urban agriculture initiatives on public soil, almost nothing emerges regarding private green areas, and, specifically, those located in condominium common spaces. Therefore, this thesis aims to examine how such underused spaces can be repurposed into urban agriculture projects. The goals are multiple: to identify the main stakeholders involved in the creation of condominium gardens, residents’ level of awareness, their motivations and the main challenges that may emerge. A series of semi-structured qualitative interviews (n=22) show that the main stakeholders are condominium residents and administrators, and that their level of awareness is relatively low. The most recurring motivations are personal interest and environmental concern, while the main challenges relate to the diversity of interests and to technical and economic barriers. The analysis of the results has then led the authors to develop a framework for effective management models in condominium settings. This study hopes to stimulate a broader and more proactive debate that will encourage further research to make urban agriculture a more viable and widespread reality.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
---|---|---|---|
2024_12_Coli_Hoffer_Executive Summary_02.pdf
accessibile in internet per tutti
Dimensione
817.25 kB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
817.25 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
2024_12_Coli_Hoffer_Thesis_01.pdf
accessibile in internet per tutti
Dimensione
1.73 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
1.73 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/230926