Spazi marginali, giardini futuri: geografia e immaginari per una nuova alleanza ecologica urbana

Throughout the history of landscape, intertwined with the evolution of gardens, the changing relationship between human beings and nature emerges. From formal gardens, characterized by a desire to control nature, we arrive, in the modern age, at the landscape gardens, in which nature is spontaneous and supported rather than dominated. In the present day, this dialectic radicalizes, giving rise to a double tendency. On the one hand, control over the natural environment is increasingly pervasive; on the other, a renewed desire for contact with nature emerges. This need is reflected in the growing demand for green areas, the spread of neo-rurality, the adoption of new ecological paradigms, and the search for reservoirs of biodiversity and places of ecological resistance. For example, we may mention the vacant spaces that Gilles Clément talks about in defining the Third Landscape, seen as multifunctional ecological resources. Indeed, they can be urban decompression areas, reforestation oases, hydraulic permeability zones, and therefore they are strategic for the mitigation of natural disasters. Through the analysis of these transformations, it is possible to critically rethink the relationship between city and nature, suggesting new scenarios and a new planning approach, oriented towards ecological resilience and environmental justice.