Milan’s Urban Forestry Revolution: From Vertical Forests to Citywide Greening
How Milan is redefining sustainable urban life with trees, gardens, and innovative green architecture.
Milan, a city historically celebrated for its artistry and industrial spirit, is today recognized as a global pioneer in urban reforestation and sustainable architecture. Leading the charge to create a greener metropolis, Milan’s ambitious initiatives encompass landmark projects such as the Bosco Verticale, expansive peri-urban parks, innovative community gardens, and the region-wide Forestami tree-planting campaign. This comprehensive approach not only transforms the city’s landscape but also highlights Milan’s commitment to environmental recovery, biodiversity, and the well-being of its residents.
Table of Contents
- Why Urban Forestry Matters
- The Vertical Forest: Milan’s Iconic Green Towers
- Citywide Greening: The Forestami Initiative
- Peri-Urban Parks: Parco Agricolo Sud
- Urban Gardening and Community Involvement
- Green Policies and Their Impacts
- Challenges and Future Directions
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why Urban Forestry Matters
Modern cities face acute challenges: rising temperatures, air pollution, declining biodiversity, and the pervasive urban heat island effect. Urban forestry provides a suite of nature-based solutions to address these issues, including:
- Absorbing CO₂ and pollutants from the air
- Producing oxygen and enhancing overall air quality
- Regulating temperature and offering shade
- Reducing noise pollution and improving mental well-being
- Supporting urban biodiversity for wildlife and plants
Milan’s urban forestry strategy represents a holistic vision. Rather than isolated projects, the city aims for an interconnected ecosystem of green areas, providing environmental, economic, and social benefits citywide.
The Vertical Forest: Milan’s Iconic Green Towers
The Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) stands as a revolutionary icon of “living architecture,” shifting the paradigm from buildings as isolated entities to green habitats hosting a complex web of life. Conceived by Stefano Boeri Architetti and completed in the Porta Nuova district, the project comprises two residential towers (110 and 76 meters high) that hold:
- 800–900 trees of varying sizes (3, 6, or 9 meters tall)
- 4,500–5,000 shrubs
- 20,000+ plants, representing over 100 species
This architectural ecosystem covers the equivalent of five hectares of forest—but condensed vertically onto a footprint of around 1,000 square meters, using 50 times less land than a traditional park.
Key Benefits
- Environmental Services: The plants filter dust, absorb CO₂, produce oxygen, and regulate humidity.
- Biodiversity Haven: Birds, insects, and smaller animals find refuge in the “forest” above the city.
- Aesthetic and Psychological Value: Residents live among greenery, enjoying daily contact with nature.
- Climate Resilience: The Vegetation acts as a buffer against temperature extremes and wind.
As a prototype, Bosco Verticale has catalyzed similar projects worldwide, illustrating the viability and desirability of “tree-sized architecture.” The towers also serve as testbeds for other Milanese greening ambitions, establishing crucial data on plant survival, microclimates, and habitat creation in vertical environments.
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Citywide Greening: The Forestami Initiative
Recognizing that isolated statements are not enough, Milan has set its sights on systemic change—most visibly through Forestami, a scientific and civic project begun in 2018 and launched publicly in 2019. Forestami’s core ambition:
- Plant 3 million new trees and shrubs across the Metropolitan City of Milan by 2030
Forestami is:
- Scientifically Led: Established from research by the Politecnico di Milano, using evidence-based approaches to maximize ecological, social, and climate benefits.
- Collaborative: Engages municipal governments, businesses, schools, NGOs, and residents as participants and stewards.
- Strategically Mapped: Focuses on “corridors” and nodes that link existing green areas, creating a continuous urban forest.
- Diverse in Scope: Includes urban parks, streets, schoolyards, peri-urban farmlands, and residential zones.
The scientific mapping produced by the Forestami team identifies the best zones for planting to maximize ecosystem services, such as:
- Urban cooling—mitigating the city’s heat island effect
- Biodiversity conservation—linking habitats for birds, amphibians, and insects
- Water management—reducing stormwater runoff and supporting aquifers
Community Involvement
- Forestami Academy: Launched in concert with the Prada Group, the Academy raises ecological awareness through education, workshops, and public events.
- Engagement Opportunities: Individuals, companies, and municipalities can “adopt” trees, fund new plantings, or participate in hands-on planting days.
Forestami also contributes directly to seven of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), tying local actions to global sustainability frameworks.
Peri-Urban Parks: Parco Agricolo Sud
Milan’s vision for green infrastructure extends beyond its urban core, embracing the “Green Rays and Green Belt” concept to unite city parks with regional agriculture. Parco Agricolo Sud—an extensive peri-urban park—serves as a model for integrated land use, biodiversity conservation, and ecological restoration.
Main Features of Parco Agricolo Sud
- Area: Approximately 47,033 hectares, with 38,000 hectares actively farmed
- Participants: Over 1,000 farmers involved in sustainable production
- Biodiversity Zones: Dedicated sites for restoring native ecosystems and protecting declining species, such as the Lombard Spadefoot toad and Lataste’s frog
- Nature Reserves: Contains Sites of Conservation Interest and Priority Conservation Areas
The park offers:
- Local Food and Resilient Agriculture: Meeting demand for sustainably produced, local food
- Recreational Spaces: Walking, biking, and nature observation for residents and visitors
- Cultural Preservation: Agricultural heritage and rural landscapes
- Urban-rural Linkages: Creating ecological and social bridges between Milan’s urban core and its agricultural periphery
Urban Gardening and Community Involvement
Urban gardening has flourished in Milan as a cornerstone of participatory city greening. Recognizing the role of citizen involvement, in 2012 the municipal council established guidelines for:
- Partnerships with NGOs to develop new community gardens, especially on underutilized or abandoned land
- Offering small plots for growing fruits and vegetables for personal use (mainly on municipal land)
- Facilitating access to water and infrastructure for gardeners
- Encouraging neighbourhood cohesion and participatory management
The ColtivaMi Project epitomizes this approach, promoting:
- The recovery and rehabilitation of derelict urban spaces
- Gardening as both a hobby and a means to combat urban food deserts
- Social interaction, intergenerational exchange, and inclusive urban renewal
Today, countless Milanese benefit from allotment gardens, reconnecting with the land while cultivating food and friendships.
Green Policies and Their Impacts
Milan’s sustainability agenda goes far beyond planting trees. The city’s deliberate strategies for green space development, urban resilience, and participatory governance have created a framework for measurable ecological and social transformation.
Major Policy Instruments and Research Projects
- Carta of Milan Green Plan: Fundamental in conceptualizing an interconnected “green system” that crosses administrative and physical boundaries across Greater Milan.
- Piano ad indirizzo forestale della Provincia di Milano: The latest urban forestry action plan, integrating research and stakeholder input to align with EU and UN sustainability targets.
- Green Surge Project: Assessing the cooling impact of vegetation on the urban heat island and enhancing institutional capacity for green governance.
Key Measurable Impacts
- Urban Heat Mitigation: Energy balance models of Milan demonstrate that vegetated parks and periurban forests reduce urban temperatures, especially during summer heatwaves.
- CO₂ Storage and Air Quality: Combined, initiatives like Bosco Verticale and Forestami correspond to carbon storage and air filtration equivalent to many hectares of mature forest.
- Biodiversity Restoration: Species-rich habitats within parks and “vertical forests” support pollinators, amphibians, and avian life that had vanished from the city before the regeneration efforts.
- Inclusive Governance: Milan’s model encourages participatory planning and offers residents a place at the decision-making table, enhancing both the effectiveness and the legitimacy of green interventions.
Challenges and Future Directions
Despite Milan’s progress, the city faces significant challenges in scaling and maintaining its green renaissance. Sustaining living infrastructure demands ongoing:
- Long-term Care and Funding: Trees and urban ecosystems require years of watering, disease management, and pruning, especially as climate change accelerates.
- Biodiversity Planning: Maximizing the ecological value of new plantings means choosing appropriate native species and creating an interconnected “network” of habitats, not isolated islands.
- Inclusive Participation: Ensuring that green spaces are accessible and beneficial to all Milanese—across socioeconomic divides and neighbourhoods—is essential for real urban justice.
- Urban Growth Pressures: Green space must compete with infrastructure development, housing, and business needs in the city’s ever-evolving landscape.
Yet, Milan’s visible successes provide a roadmap for cities globally. The city’s commitment to evidence-based planning, inclusive partnership, and design innovation hints at a future where harmonious coexistence between nature and urban life becomes the norm, not the exception.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is the goal of Milan’s Forestami project?
A: Forestami aims to plant 3 million new trees in the Metropolitan City of Milan by 2030, enhancing climate resilience, biodiversity, and the health of residents.
Q: How does Bosco Verticale help the environment?
A: Bosco Verticale’s towers host thousands of trees and shrubs, which filter air pollutants, absorb CO₂, produce oxygen, and create microhabitats for urban wildlife while mitigating urban heat and reducing noise pollution.
Q: How are Milan’s citizens involved in urban greening projects?
A: Citizens participate through community garden initiatives, educational programs (such as Forestami Academy), collaborative planting events, and stewardship programs, ensuring shared ownership and active engagement in the city’s green transformation.
Q: What challenges remain for Milan’s urban forestry?
A: Long-term care, biodiversity management, equitable access to green spaces, and integrating green infrastructure with development pressures all present ongoing hurdles for the city’s sustainable future.
Q: Which Milan green project is most internationally recognized?
A: The Bosco Verticale is a global architectural icon, inspiring similar projects worldwide and underscoring Milan’s leadership in innovative green design.
References
- https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/project/vertical-forest/
- https://oppla.eu/case-study/milan-nbs-urban-regeneration
- https://forestami.org/en/
- https://spool.ac/index.php/spool/article/view/268
- https://resilience-blog.com/2023/12/27/greening-tomorrows-cities-today/
- https://www.imcdgroup.com/imcd-stories/MCNCQZACDE3NHKRCFENB63P3NK2Y
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