2013 urban farming

Milan[edible city]

Milan [edible city]

Tesi di laurea magistrale in architettura

Facoltà di architettura e società Politecnico di Milano

Student: Luca Pavarin

Supervisor: Prof. Gennaro Postiglione

Il lavoro di ricerca e il conseguente progetto deriva da uno studio sviluppato all’interno del Corso Integrato di Adaptive Re-Use del prof Gennaro Postiglione le cui ricerche si focalizzano prevalentemente su riuso e recupero di patrimoni minori e sul rapporto tra memoria collettivae identità culturale intese come azioni diffusedi museografia e allestimento del territorio. L’obiettivo è mettere le risorse dell’architettura al servizio dell’interesse pubblico attraverso un processo di progettazione che interpreta la disciplina degli Interni come un sistema in grado di sviluppare strategie di riattivazioni sostenibili facendo cooperare tra loro persone, ambienti e oggetti.Metodologicamente, ogni lavoro di tesi prende dunque le mosse dalla identificazione di un questione emergente o latente della nostra quotidianità, indagandone il valore strategico e le motivazioni che la rendono un tema meritorio di attenzione progettuale. Si prosegue con l’individuazione degli obiettivi prioritari da perseguire e la stesura di un metaprogetto e un programma funzionale da soddisfare. Da questo background nascono le risposte progettuali che si riferiscono a specifici contesti di lavoro. I lavori sono raccolti nel data base della Ricerca Azione sviluppata con le tesi: http://www.lablog.org.uk/category/diploma-works/L’attività di Ricerca Azione connessa alla didattica trova riscontro anche nelle ricerche in corso: REcall-European Conflict Archaeological Landscape Reappropriation - possibili museografie per le eredità dei conflitti del Novecento in Europa (www.recall-project.polimi.it); MeLa-European Museums in an Age of Migrations – “l’europeizzazione” dell’Europa e l’ibridazione delle culture come agenda necessaria nella ridefinizione del Museum complex (www.melaproject.eu); Re-Cycling Italy (sul recupero il riuso e riciclo del patrimonio inutilizzato italiano).

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

INTROduCTIONThe consumption paradox

ThE fOOd Supply IN MIlANAn analysis through the three different categories of the food chain

Farming

Distribution

Consumer

REflECTIONSCan cities become self-reliant in food?

CASE STudIES

dESIGN pROpOSAl

Sustainable campus

Greenhouse

Design

Shots

Bibliography

Credits

10

50

106

134

208

296

8

Milan[edible city]

301

7 8

how do we feed our city?An investigation through the world of foodby Luca Pavarin

Abstract1

As a living beings we depend on food. Our entire life is shaped by this essential need but considering cities, the place in which we live and work, a contradiction is becoming visible. The sustenance of the urban lifestyle depends even more from something we produce elsewhere, in something we usually call countryside.After industrialization, the birth of new networks and long-term conservation methods changed the way we provide food. Nowadays, what is really feeding us is a chain of corporations that are turning food into a product. We do not know anymore where and in which way food is produced. Food and agriculture produce one third of global greenhouse gas emissions and use seventy percent of the world’s freshwater.Italy, a region with a long tradition of agricultural production, is today a country in transition. Our territory loses everyday a considerable portion of its fertile agricultural lands. This soil is used to build new infrastructure, housing and industrial buildings that are becoming more and more abandoned and useless. This thesis wants to analyse this trend looking at the different phases that characterize the entire food chain: from farming to consumer, passing through the complex system of distribution. After a general analysis, Milan and its regional context will be the focus of this research. The reflections that will come out from this study will lead to a design proposal which wants to give an answer to possible emerging questions.

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1. Carolyn Steel, hungry city: how food shapes our lives, Vintage, 2009

01 INTROduCTION

1211

1 cal = 10 calevery calorie of food takes ten to produce

The consumption paradox

hamburger280 gr

oil737 gr

Today takes 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce a single calorie of modern supermarket food. When we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases.

14

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2. Michael Pollan, farmer in chief, The New York Times, 9th October 20083. Paul Roberts, Today’s food crisis isn’t a blip, USA Today, 22nd May 2008

In the October 2008, The New York Times published an open letter to the president-elect called “Farmer in Chief”. The letter was written by the journalist Michael Pollon that in the last years wrote many books about food. The following excerpt is taken from that letter:

In another article, the journalist and the author of “The end of food” Paul Roberts, described why food crisis is not a blip:

“After cars, food system uses more fossil fuel than any other sector of the economy - 19 percent. And while the experts disagree about the exact amount, the way we feed ourselves contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than anything else we do - as much as 37 percent, according to one study. Whenever farmers clear land for crops and till the soil, large quantities of carbon are released into the air. But the 20th-century industrialization of agriculture has increased the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the food system by an order of magnitude; chemical fertilizers (made from natural gas), pesticides (made from petroleum), farm machinery, modern food processing and packaging and transportation have together transformed a system that in 1940 produced 2.3 calories of food energy for every calorie of fossil-fuel energy it used into one that now takes 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce a single calorie of modern supermarket food. Put another way, when we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases.”2

“Consider how quickly food demand is accelerating. We’ve all heard how the developing world is rich enough to eat more meat. But the real story here isn’t that global meat consumption will more than double by 2050; it’s that each pound of extra meat will require, on average, at least 6 more pounds of livestock feed, meaning we’ll need to substantially boost our grain output. And that’s a problem, because even as demand soars, traditional methods for increasing supply are losing their punch.No longer can farmers boost grain output simply by plowing up more land: Most of the world’s readily farmable acres are already in crops, and what remains is performing other useful functions. In fact, the world is actively losing farmland — to erosion, overgrazing and development. Even in the USA, the inexorable spread of suburbs, malls and golf courses costs us nearly 2 acres of farmland for each birth or new immigrant.”3

The end of food

today’s urban population:3,307,905,000

6 billion by 2050

17 18

LONDON12

CAIRO15.9

LAGOS10

NEW DELHI21.1

MUMBAI21.3

KARACHI14.8

KOLKATA15.5

DHAKA13.8

JACARTA14.9

MANILA15.4

TOKYO33.4

OSAKA16.6

SEOUL23.2

GUANDONG7.3

SHANGHAI17.3

BEIJING12.7

TEHERAN12.1

ISTANBUL11.7

MOSCOW13.4

RIO DE JANEIRO

12.2

SAO PAULO20.4

BUENOSAIRES

13.5

MEXICOCITY22.1

LOS ANGELES

17.9

NEW YORK21.8

uS246.281%

CANAdA26.380%

MEXICO84.392

77%

VENEZuElA26

94%

COlOMBIA34.373%

BRAZIl162.685%

pERu21

73%

ChIlE14.688%

ARGENTINA35.690%

uK54

90%

NEThERlANdS13.381%

BElGIuM10.297%

fRANCE46.977%

SpAIN33.677%

GERMANy62

75%

ITAly39.668%

SWEdEN7.6

pOlANd23.962%

CZEChREpuBlIC

7.4

uKRAINE30.968%

ROMANIA11.654%

TuRKEy51.168%

RuSSIA103.673%

IRAN48.468%

IRAQ20.367%

SyRIA10.251%

SAudI ARABIA

20.981%

EGypT33.143%

TuNISIA

AlGERIA22

SudAN16.343%

EThIOpIA13

16%

NIGERIA68.650%

CAMEROON9.5

ANGOlA 9.3

CONGO, dR Of20.233%

S AfRICA28.660%

KENyA7.6

TANZANIA9.9

25%

MOZAMBIQuE

MOROCCO19.460%

IVORyCOAST

8.6GhANA

11.349%

INdIA329.329%

pAKISTAN59.336%

AfGhANISTAN7.8

uZBEKISTAN10.137%

KAZAKhSTAN8.6

ChINA559.242%

BANGlAdESh38.226%

MyANMAR16.532%

VIETNAM23.327%

ThAIlANd21.533%

MAlAySIA18.169%

INdONESIA114.150%

phIlIppINES55

64%

JApAN84.766%

S KOREA39

81%

N KOREA14.162%

AuSTRAlIA18.189%

Cities over 10 million people

Predominantly urban 75% or over

Predominantly urban 50%-74%

Urban 0%-49%

Global demand is soaring

More than 50 per cent of the global population now lives in urban areas. This figure is expected to increase, as the world is rapidly urbanizing, particularly in Asia and Africa. Urbanization usually comes in tandem with increasing income, which turn leads to growing Ecological Footprints. According to forecasts, the global urban population will almost double to 6 billion by 2050 (UNFPA, 2007) and US$350 trillion will be spent globally on urban infrastructure and usage over the next three decades. The map shows the number of people living in cities in each country of the world in 2010, together with the percentage of the population in countries with large urban populations.4

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4. WWf living planet Report (2012)

21 22

Today we use 1/3 of the planet’s surface to produce

By 2050, we will need twice as much food

mountains, lakes, rivers and streamsdeserts

cities and highwaysnational parks

The planet’s carrying capacity has reached!

use of land

The world population is continuing to grow at a rapid rate. It rose from 3.0 billion in 1960 to 6.5 billion in 2005 – and by 2030 there will be approx. 8.3 billion people living on our planet. Supplying these people with food constitutes a growing challenge throughout the world. To make things even more difficult, whilst the need for food is increasing, the amount of available farmland per capita is continually shrinking. In 2005, there was still 2,200 m² of farmland available to supply the needs of one human being. By 2030 there will only be 1,800 m².5

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

0.45

0.50

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008

hectares of cropland per person

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5. FAO, SOlAW, 2011 6. David R. Montgomery, Is agriculture eroding civilization’s foundation?, GSA Today, October 2007

“Today, it still takes 0.25 ha to feed each person [...] Yet by 2050 the amount of avaiable cropland is projected to drop to less than 0.1 ha per person due to continued population growth and loss of cropland.”6

In one of his articles, the professor David Montgomery asserted:

24

A resource called soil

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7. David R. Montgomery, dishing dirt with david Montgomery, Interview for Celsias, February 20088. Ugo Bardi, Getting our land back, cassandralegacy.blogspot.it, 17th April 2012

In 2008, during an interview the professor David Montgomery said:

“We really need three things to survive on this planet; clean air, fresh water and fertile, productive soil to build food. We can’t afford to build a society that doesn’t take care of all three over the long run. There’s lots of awareness of the very important role climate will play in the next century, a lot of people have an idea that fresh water is limited. It’s much less appreciated as to the fundamental importance of soil and the care of soil, soil stewardship. [...] We lose a millimeter to a couple of millimeters per year. Given that the average soil thickness is a half a meter and you’re losing a millimeter per year, in 500 years, you lose half of it. It’s on an order of magnitude to the time line you see for many civilizations. Is it coincidence or historical?”7

In addition we have to consider the amount of land we lost every year due to urbanization. Infrastructure and buildings are eating our fertile soil. Recently in his blog, professor Ugo Bardi, a chemist interested in resource depletion, climate and renewable energy, wrote:

“The results for the fraction of area covered with permanent structures range from about 0.5% (Schneider et al., 2009) to about 3% (Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project, 2004). Translated into areas, these values correspond to a minimum of 700,000 square km and to a maximum of about three million square km. To visualize these areas, think that the first one compares to France (550,000 square km) and the second to India (3.2 million square km). No matter which result we should consider as the most reliable, the data clearly show that building takes place mostly in flat and fertile areas. [...] Apparently, we are engaged in the task of destroying the land that supports our physical existence.”8

2625

We can’t eat concrete!

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Source: uSGS10. European Commission, Overview of best practices for limiting soil sealing or mitigating its effects in Eu-27

1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

World cement production [millions of metric tons]

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

“Every year in Europe, soils covering an area larger than the city of Berlin are lost to urban sprawl and transport infrastructure. [...] Between 1990 and 2000, at least 275 hectares of soil were lost per day in the EU, amounting to 1,000 km² per year, with half of this soil being sealed by layers of concrete and asphalt. This effectively means that every ten years an area the size of Cyprus is paved over.4.1 %, 4.3 % and 4.4 % of the EU territory was classified as artificial surface in 1990, 2000 and 2006 respectively. This corresponds to a 8.8 % increase of artificial surface in the EU between 1990 and 2006. In the same period, population increased by only 5 %. In 2006 each EU citizen disposed of 389 m² of artificial surfaces, which is 3.8 % or 15 m² more compared to 1990.”10

27 28

without vegetation

stable soil

degraded soil

very degraded soil

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Source: ISRIC

land degradation on the rise

28% of the world soil degradation is

due to agricultural practices

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9. www.fao.org (2008)

“Defined as a long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, land degradation is increasing in severity and extent in many parts of the world, with more than 20 percent of all cultivated areas, 30 percent of forests and 10 percent of grasslands undergoing degradation.An estimated 1.5 billion people, or a quarter of the world’s population, depend directly on land that is being degraded.The consequences of land degradation include reduced productivity, migration, food insecurity, damage to basic resources and ecosystems, and loss of biodiversity through changes to habitats at both species and genetic levels. The data indicate that despite the stated determination of 193 countries that ratified the United Nations Conference to Combat Desertification in 1994, land degradation is worsening rather than improving.”9

agriculture produces 13,5% of the total greenhouse gas emissions

31 32

Modern agriculture

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Source: Natasha Giilbert, Summit urged to clean up farming, Nature, November 201111. Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating fossil fuels, The Wilderness Publications, 2004

Agriculture is responsible for 13.5 percent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions.

49Gt*Agriculture13.5%

*49 gigatonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent per year

Agriculture has changed greatly in the past few decades:

Forestry17.4%

Waste and wastewater2.8%

Industry19.4%

Buildings7.9%

Transport13.1%

Energy supply25.9%

“In the 1950s and 1960s, agriculture underwent a drastic transformation commonly referred to as the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution resulted in the industrialization of agriculture. Part of the advance resulted from new hybrid food plants, leading to more productive food crops. Between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%. That is a tremendous increase in the amount of food energy available for human consumption. This additional energy did not come from an increase in incipient sunlight, nor did it result from introducing agriculture to new vistas of land. The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon fueled irrigation.”11

In the United States, 400 gallons of oil equivalents are expended annually to feed each American (as of data provided in 1994). Agricultural energy consumption is broken down as follows:

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Source: David Pimentel, Mario Giampietro, food, land, population and the u.S. Economy, Carrying Capacity Network, 1994

31% for the manufacture of inorganic fertilizer

19% for the operation of field machinery

16% for transportation

13% for irrigation

8% for raising livestock

5% for crop drying

5% for pesticide production

3% other

As we can see from the data that do not consider energy costs for packaging, refrigeration, transportation to retail outlets and household cooking, it is an agriculture reliant on oil in all its phases. Another trend to consider is the growing demand for chemicals in what we should call agriculture industry.

33 34

Worldwide fertilizer consumption [million tons]

160

120

80

40

01971

“Despite land degradation, agricultural yields continue to increase, in part thanks to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that temporarily boost soil productivity. Fertilizer consumption has increased exponentially since the 1950s, so much so that 50% of all commercial fertilizer ever produced has been applied since 1984. According to the World Health Organization, some 3 million people a year suffer from severe pesticide poisoning. Pesticide exposure can lead to cancer, birth defects and damage to the nervous system. Drinking water contaminated by pesticide runoff is a main source of exposure.Excess fertilizer use and runoff causes eutrophication in waterways which threatens animal and plant health. The surplus nutrients stimulate excessive plant growth, such as algal blooms, which consume nearly all the available oxygen in the water and cause other plants and animals to suffocate. Surplus nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer runoff, animal manure, soil erosion and sewage have created a “dead zone” of more than 7000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River.”12

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Source: International fertilizer Industry Association12. http://www.cool2012.com/

According to several international agencies, the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture has increased. Cool2012.com, an ensamble of several enviromental organizations, published an article that points out this trend:

Chemical dependence

1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2007

u.S. fertilizer price [$ per ton]

2000

1500

1000

500

0

2500

1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040

36

food turns into a product!

In 2008, journalist Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote an article entitled “Putting pollution on grocery bills “ that was published in The New York Times. This is an excerpt of that article:

“Cod caught off Norway is shipped to China to be turned into filets, then shipped back to Norway for sale. Argentine lemons fill supermarket shelves on the Spanish Citrus Coast as local lemons rot on the ground. Half of the peas in Europe are grown and packaged in Kenya. In the United States, FreshDirect.com proclaims kiwi season has expanded to “All year!” now that Italy has become the world’s leading supplier of the national fruit of New Zealand, taking over in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter. [...] Increasingly efficient global transport networks make it practical to bring food before it spoils from distant places where labor costs are lower. And the penetration of megamarkets in nations from China to Mexico with supply and distribution chains that gird the globe - like Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco - has accelerated the trend. But the movable feast comes at a cost: pollution, especially carbon dioxide, from transporting the food. [...] The European Union, the world’s leading food importer, has increased imports 20 percent in the last five years. The value of fresh fruit and vegetables imported by the United States, in second place, nearly doubled between 2000 and 2006. [...]“In the past few years there have been new plantations all over the center of Italy,” said Antonio Baglioni, export manager of Apofruit, a major Italian kiwi exporter.Kiwis from Sanifrutta, another Italian exporter, travel by sea in refrigerated containers: 18 days to the United States, 28 to South Africa and more than a month to reach New Zealand.Some studies have calculated that as little as 3 percent of emissions from the food sector are caused by transportation. But Watkiss, the Oxford economist, said the percentage was growing rapidly. Moreover, imported foods generate more emissions than generally acknowledged because they require layers of packaging and, in the case of perishable food, refrigeration.Britain, with its short growing season and powerful supermarket chains, imports 95 percent of its fruit and more than half of its vegetables. Food accounts for 25 percent of truck shipments in Britain, according to the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. [...] Retailers today could not survive if they failed to offer such variety, said Moorehouse, the British food consultant.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we’ve educated our customers to expect cheap food, that they can go to the market to get whatever they want, whenever they want it. All year. 24/7.”13

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13. Elisabeth Rosenthal, putting pollution on grocery bills, The New York Times, 25th April 2008

37 38

do you know where your dinner was last night?

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: nextgenerationfood.com

20,000 km

Strawberries

Broccoli

15,000 km10,000 km5,000 km0 km

Grapes

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Pineapples

Apples

Sweet potatoes

Bananas

Canned tuna

Spring onions

Carrots

Asparagus

Beef

Pears

Lamb

The uK total distance of conventional produce travels to come to you

CO2 produced per kg of food

AirSea

0

5

10

Lam

b

Bee

f

Pea

rs

Pin

eapp

les

Carr

ots

Ban

anas

Pot

atoe

s

App

les

Asp

arag

us

Spri

ng o

nion

Tom

atoe

s

Gra

pes

Swee

t pot

ato

Bro

ccol

i

Stra

wbe

rrie

s

1

39 40

ApplesFrom the USA, a journey of 10,133 miles. 76% of apples consumed in the UK are from overseas. A Friends of the Earth survey of supermarkets found that at the height of the British season, the majority of apples on sale were imported, many from outside the EU. Over 60% of the UK’s apple orchards have been destroyed in the last 30 years.

lettuceFrom Spain, a journey of 958 miles. It takes 127 calories of energy (in the form of aviation fuel) to import one calorie of lettuce across the Atlantic, according the research group Sustain, yet we import lettuce out of season from California or from southern Europe.

SpinachFrom Spain 958 miles. Leafy green vegetables are known to have high nutritive value but some of this goodness is lost through time spent in transit. Spinach can lose up to 90% of its vitamin C in the 24 hours after harvest, according to Sustain. The process of washing and bagging salads also appears to destroy some of their nutrients, although the argument is raging as to whether the modified gas which is used to fill the bags or the chlorine the leaves are washed in is responsible. Chlorine is an oxidising bleach.

Red peppersFrom Holland, 62miles (port to port). These ramiro peppers, despite their name which conjures up sunny Mediterranean climes, come from Holland, where they were developed for their flavour and colour in response to the loss of taste in the conventional red peppers intensively produced in the Netherlands.

TomatoesFrom Saudi Arabia, a journey of 3,086 miles. About two-thirds of the tomatoes we eat are imported, according to the British Tomato Growers Association. That means more long-life varieties to withstand the transport and a loss of flavour and texture since the fruit needs to be picked early, to prevent it spoiling on its journey.

CarrotsFrom South Africa, 5,979 miles. It will have taken 68 calories of energy in the form of fuel to air freight each calorie of carrot energy. The organic movement was based on minimising the environmental impact of production, but demand has led to organic produce clocking up thousands of food miles too.

StrawberriesFrom Spain, a journey of 958 miles. UK strawberries are losing out to imports even during the British strawberry season. Importing one kilogram of out-of-season strawberries from California is the equivalent of keeping a 100 watt light bulb on for eight days. Crops that travel well and have a long shelf-life are preferred by supermarkets. Just one variety, the Elsanta, now makes up 75% of strawberry sales, according to the National Summer Fruits organisation.

potatoesFrom Israel, a journey of 2187 miles. The British Potato Council estimates that the UK imports about 350,000 tonnes of potatoes a year, including imports during the UK season. These are mostly the “baby” or “salad” potatoes varieties from the Middle East. Many of them will have been in store for over six months, with corresponding loss of nutrients.

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14. Robyn Lewis, Felicity Lawrence, Andy Jones, Miles and miles and miles, The Guardian, 10th May 2003

Miles and miles and miles14

How far has your basket of food travelled? This is the question that in 2003 leaded three journalists of The Guardian to track down twenty fresh foods from the major retailers of London. This is the result of that study:

AsparagusFrom Peru, 6,312 miles. The English season is getting longer, thanks in part to what appears to be climate change. Nevertheless Latin American asparagus is available during our native season.

41 42

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Source: fAO, EIA

Oil

The result

2000

world food crisis

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Over the past century the way we consider, produce and supply food has changed. All the supply chain has a strong relation with oil. From the agriculture industry to the packaging, every step uses a certain amount of oil to proceed. This trend can be clearly seen comparing the Food Price Index (FPI) controlled by FAO and the Oil price through the years. The result are two curves that actually can be turned into a single one that moves up and down according to the international trades around the world.

fpI

44

At table

Last but not least, we as consumers. Because even if we are at the end of the food chain, we do part of the bad job as well. As Jodie Humphries reported in one of his post:

“It is estimated that food wasted by the US and Europe could feed the world three times over. Food waste contributes to excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels which, along with methane and CO2 emissions from decomposing food, impacts global climate change. Every tonne of food waste prevented has the potential to save 4.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the CO2 impact would be the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.”15

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15. Jodie Humphries, The impact of domestic food waste on climate change, nextgenerationfood.com, April 2010

Consumers60%

Production20%

Distribution20%

The big food wasters

45 46

Into the trash it goes

A federal study found that 43,7 billion Kg of edible food was wasted by U.S. retailers, food service businesses and consumers in 1995 - about 0,45 Kg of waste per day for every adult and child in the nation at that time. For a family of four people, that amounted to about 55 Kg of food thrown out each month in grocery stores, restaurants, cafeterias and homes. Here is a depiction of that family’s monthly share, the sum of waste in eight different food groups as detailed in the study.

Grains8,4 Kg

Fresh fruits and vegetables10,9 Kg

Processed fruit and vegetables4,8 Kg

Fluid milk10 Kg

Meat and fish4,7 Kg

Sweeteners6,8 Kg

Fats and oils3,9 Kg

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Source: united States department of Agriculture

Other food (includes eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, dry beans, peas and lentils, dairy other than fluid milk)5,8 Kg

47 48

how much do the world eat?

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: united States food and drug Administration

3754

1606no data

Caloric intake across the globe

+23% of the world

caloric intake compared to

1970

02 ThE fOOd Supply IN MIlAN

51 52

farming distribution consumer

The second chapter focuses more on Milan and its regional context. It developes more in detail the food supply system in a local scale. Although our country has a strong tradition and capacity in terms of agriculture, something is happening. Several alarm bells have already started to ring. Especially in the case of Milan, this trend has become more visible probably due to his financial and industrial character. We and our territory lay in a sort of transition. At the moment, we are favouring other aspects than the things that are really feeding us. It is possible to notice a sort of exclusion and indifference to what we are doing and causing. A city that is expecting to reach 2 million inhabitants in the next few years, the question of food has to find an answer. To an increasing urbanization is corresponding a continuous loss of agricultural land. Farms are becoming bigger and even more specialized, preferring a monoculture practice instead of saving biodiversity. The retail area of supermarkets is increasing, spreading the idea that food is above all a product, wrapped up in a way that we cannot smell or touch anymore. Moreover our behaviour towards food and the meal is changing, especially among the young generation.To reach a more clear analysis and build a concrete strategy, the research has been divided according to the three main subjects of the food chain: farming, distribution and consumers. For each on them have been analyzed trends and previsions for the next future.

Abstract

53 54

farming

Bibliography

ERSAF, l’uso del suolo in lombardia negli ultimi 50 anni, Milano, 2011

European commission, Soil Atlas of Europe, 2005

VVAA, dictionary of agriculture, London, 2006

Piero Bellini, Pier Luigi Ghisleni, Agronomia generale, Torino, 1987

Francesco Bonciarelli, fondamenti di agronomia generale, Bologna, 1989

Francesca Natali, Appunti del corso di agronomia generale

Anna Della Marta, Appunti del corso di tecniche agronomiche e culturali per la conservazione del territorio

ARPA Lombardia, Rapporto sullo stato dell’ambiente in lombardia, 2011

ISPRA, Rapporto nazionale sulla presenza di pesticidi nelle acque, 2010

VVAA, le scienze della terra, Franco Lucisano editore, 2008

ISPRA, Monitoraggio nazionale dei pesticidi nelle acque 2007-2008, 133/2011

Provincia di Milano, piano di settore agricolo, 2003

56

What is soil made of?

“Soil consists of a complex mixture of mineral and organic particles that represent the products of weathering and biochemical processes that break down the local rocks and sediments into individual grains of increasingly smaller sizes and also break down the dead vegetation and organisms that fall on or remain within it. When we handle the soil, the fact that it usually stains and moistens our fingers, shows that it also holds different amounts of water and chemicals and the amounts of these that can be held by the soil are determined by the size and origin of the mineral and organic particles present. The two other final components that make up the soil are the organisms, both plants and animals, that live (and die) within it and the air that enables them to live there.Agricultural soil is a precious and limited resource, whose value has frequently been built up by man during decades or even centuries. Irreversible degradation of soil implies not only ruining the main asset of the current generation of farmers but also reducing the farming opportunities of future generations. Therefore, there must be a sustainable use and management of agricultural soil, with a view to safeguarding the fertility and agronomic value of agricultural land.”1

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

1. European commission, Soil atlas of europe, 2005

soil

subsoil

active layer

inert layer

Agricultural soil

Soil is the living, breathing skin of our planet and it is affected by, and is the result of, the many and varied interactions that occur between the atmosphere, as governed by climate and weather patterns, the biosphere, that is the local vegetation and animal activities including those of man, the geosphere, the rocks and sediments that form the upper few meters of the Earth’s solid crust. Soil is the medium that enables us to grow our food, natural fibre and timber. Virtually all vegetation, including grasses, arable crops, shrubs and trees, need soil for the supply of water and nutrients and to fix their roots. It is not an understatement to say that soil is one of the key issues on which agriculture is based and, thus, fundamental to the existence of human society.

57 58

The ideal agricultural soil

Sand50-70%

Silt10-15%

Clay5-10%

Humus5-10%

Limestone1-5%

Carbon (C)

Element Origin

Absorbed from the air as carbon dioxide through the leaves (photosynthesis)

hydrogen (h)Oxygen (O)

Absorbed from the water in the soil through the roots

Nitrogen (N)phosphorus (p)potassium (K)

Primary macroelements*: added through fertilizer

Calcium (Ca)Magnesium (Mg)Sulphur (S)

Secondary microelements**: almost always present in the soil

Iron (fe)Manganese (Mn)Copper (Cu)Zinc (Zn)Molybdenum (Mo)Boron (B)Cobalt (Co)

Microelements**: almost always present in the soil

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: VVAA, le scienze della terra, Franco Lucisano editore, 2008

*Macroelements: elements that have to be introduce in significant quantities**Microelements: necessary elements in small quantities

The ideal agricultural soil for cultivated plants is composed of:

Moreover it has to be soft to allow a good air and water circulation. The soil fertility depends on the presence of mineral salts, in particular: nitrogen, phosphorus and Potassium. The agricultural soil has to be ploughed, broken up and irrigated. It is rendered more fertile thanks to the fertilizer and several practices such as the green manure.There are different kind of cultures, and a good alternation, known as “crop rotation”, can guarantee the fertility of the soil. The main kind are:

- light feeder (corn, beetroot, potato, tomato, tobacco, sunflower, legume, ...)

- heavy feeder (they exploit and impoverish the soil: wheat, barley, rice, rye, oats)

- heavy giver (they increase the soil fertility: grasses, leguminous: alfalfa and trifolium)

ABOVE GROUND

BELOW GROUND

fERTIlIZERNitrogenPhosphorusPotassium

SOIlCalciumMagnesiumSulphurIronManganeseCopperZincMolybdenumBoronCobalt

WATERHydrogen

Oxygen

AIRCarbon

Annual loss of agricultural soil in Lombardy:

12 ha/year

61 62

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: Corriere agricolo, 11 October 2011

63 64

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ISTAT, ARpA lombardia

1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

1.000.000 ha

800.000

600.000

400.000

200.000

1.200.000

1.400.000

1.600.000

1.800.000

SAU in Lombardy [m2]

sowable lands (cereals, legumes, industrial plants, vegetable, ornamental plants, fallow land)

woody crops (olives, citruses, fructiferous, farm, vegetable garden, meadow, grazing)

SAU (superficie agricola utilizzata)

The term SAU represents the utilized agricultural area. It considers two main categories:

SAu (superficie agricola utilizzata)

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ARpA lombardia

25-5050

10-2510

Percentage of soil consumption

During the general census in 2000 the utilized agricultural area was 5,8% lower than 1990. Today, according to the last agricultural census, almost the same quantity of fertile land has been lost. Now in Lombardy there are 981.240,13 ha utilized in agriculture.

65 66

19361.115.848 hab

20071.303.437 hab

1955

-36% of land from 1955

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ERSAf, Centro studi pIM

From the following maps is clear an homogeneous decreasing of the agricultural lands between 1936 and 2007 due to the growth of the city. The urban explosion is a well-known phenomenon that takes part all over the world and it mainly corresponds to a costant urbanization process that in some case is over 50% of the total population. In our case, the province of Milan has a number of inhabitants which is very close to the dwellings in the beginning of the last century.The growth of urbanized surface, taken both by buildings and infrastructure, is one of the main pressure on our territory. The consequences are different: from the loss of fertile land, because the soil is no more permeable, to the fragmentation and pollution of the cultivation units. As it was written in a recent report by ERSAF:

Soil consumption in Milan

“In 2007 is possible to notice how spread is the pulverization, the atomization of the regional surface is visible even in the previous years: the fragmentation of different land uses - on which the urban area is dominating - produces an harmonizing effect. The territory appears almost everywhere occupied by the dark color of the built enviroment and darkens like a veil the other land uses. Just the mountainous part seems almost immune, however in area far less extensive than in the past.Paradoxically, today’s land use in Lombardy is simpler than in the past, when the difference between urban and rural settlements, plain and mountain were far more marked and profound.The tangible and intangible urbanization, is the phenomenon that dominates everywhere, like a cloak that covers everything, making uniform landscapes and territories, people and behaviours.”2

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

2. ERSAF, l’uso del suolo in lombardia negli ultimi 50 anni, Milano, 2011Source: ISTAT, 5° Censimento generale dell’agricoltura, 2000

3.577,44 ha

is the remaining amount of SAU in the municipality of Milan

68

Erosion is the wearing away of soil or rock by rain, wind, sea, rivers or by the action of toxic substances. An accelerated erosion can be given by human activity.2

Since the first half of the 1900, we assisted the first soil disgregation process due to the expansion of the urban settlements. Today we are facing a slow process of soil erosion in part due to the mechanization processes in our farms. These actions led both to a semplification of the rural landscape and to a reduction of the variety in agriculture.In a recent report Legambiente listed the possible consequences of an erosion process:

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

1 VVAA, dictionary of agriculture, London, 2006 2 Legambiente, Suolo bene comune, 2012

detachment

transportation

deposition

soil

Soil erosionSoil erosion is mainly due to the mechanization process in our farms

“Soil erosion is a phenomenon whis has to be controlled because it brings several negative aspects:

- locally reduction of soil thickness that is the layer which contains organic substances, water, mineral salts and micro particles

- gradual soil impoverishment

- superficial erosion can prime phenomenon such as landslides that accelerate the erosion

- usually the eroded material is rich in chemicals and fertilizers used in agriculture. This substances can reach rivers and watercourses producing pollution distributed in the whole territory .”2

Use of pesticides

9,1 Kg/ha

71 72

What is a pesticide?

A pesticide is a substance that are able to kill or control/limitate an unwelcome organism. These substacens act blocking a metabolic process that is vital for that specific organism or interfering with its reproductive system.There are three main type of pesticides:

INSECTICIdE: it kills insects

hERBICIdE: it kills plants

fuNGICIdE: it kills different kind of fungal spores

pesticides

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ISpRA

Since the data on soil pollution is very poor, a way to control the amount of chemicals used in agriculture is to analyze surface water and groundwater.

Areas in which the contamination level pass the limits

no data

contaminated areawithin limits

0

50.000

100.000

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ISpRA

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

TOTAL

FUNGICIDE

INSECTICIDE

HERBICIDE

VARIOUS

Sales of chemicals in Italy [tons]

73 74

Surface water

Compromised ecologic quality of the surface water

0%

100%

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

BAD - Very bad ecological quality

POOR - Poor ecological quality

SUFFICIENT - Sufficient ecological quality

GOOD - Good ecological quality

HIGH

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ARpA

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ARpA

18%

is the percentage of surface water that has an ecological quality that is

considered poor or bad

75 76

Groundwater

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ARpA

Class 4 - high groundwater contamination in Lombardy

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ARpA

Ber

gam

o

Bre

scia

Com

o

Crem

ona

Lecc

o

Lodi

Mon

za

MIl

AN

O

Man

tova

Pav

ia

Sond

rio

Vare

se

0%

50%

100%

CLASS 4 - High groundwater pollution

CLASS 3 - Significant anthropic impact and compromised groundwater quality

CLASS 2 - Good hydrochemical characteristics and reduced anthropic impact

CLASS 1 - Anthropic pollution absent

CLASS 0

NOT CLASSIFIED

48%

is the amount of highly polluted groundwater in the Milanese

province due to anthropic impact that includes agricultural activities

78

NO3

over 50,0 mg/l

40,1-50,0 mg/l

25,1 - 40,0 mg/l

less than 25,0 mg/l

Mean concentration of NO3 in the Lombardy plain

Nitrates and plant protection products can be usually found in the portion of plain where the agricultural activities are concentrated. Nitrates are essential plant nutrients. However, if nitrogen fertilizers are overused and soil is managed inappropriately, excessive amounts of nitrates can enter waterbodies. Nitrates either enter the soil through the application of farmyard manure or mineral fertilizers or arise as a result of the breakdown of organic materials by bacteria. Nitrates are highly soluble in water. Often, because not all the nitrates present in the soil can be taken up by plants, a proportion is leached out by rainfall into groundwater. Nitrates may also indicate the presence of other contaminants, such as pesticides or residues of veterinary medicines in liquid manure.The nitrate content of uncontaminated groundwater is less than 10 mg/l. In intensively farmed areas, however, concentrations are markedly higher. Regions with a high proportion of cropland, in particular, show nitrate concentrations in groundwater of more than 25 mg/l or even 40 mg/l (the tolerance value specified for drinking water).

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ARpA, www.bafu.admin.ch

79 80

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ISTAT

500.000

1.000.000

1.00-

1.99

2.00-

4.99

5.00-

9.99

10.00

-19.99

20.00

-29.9

9

30.00

-49.9

9

50.00

-99.9

91.0

0

100.0

00

NUMBER OF FARMS

In Italy the number of small farms (less than one hectar) has cut by half. The higher reductions can be seen between what can still be considered a small farm that is between 0 to 10 hectares. The number of big farms is slightly increasing.

the number of farms has decreased from 2.405.453 (2000)

to 1.630.420 (2010)

farms

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ISTAT

1990

8.74 ha

2000

14.6 ha

2010

18.4 ha

FARM SIZE

The last agricultural census shows that in ten years the number of farms has decreased but at the same time they have increased their size. Today the average farm has 18.4 hectares, that is 3.8 hectares more than ten years ago and more than double than twenty years ago.

Loss of biodiversity

-95% of the wheat varieties

83 84

farm production in Milan

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: piano di settore agricolo, 2003

rice

corn

mixed

soybean

cereals

other

Parco agricolo sud

85 86

distribution

Bibliography

Saverio Pipitone, Shock shopping: la malattia che ci consuma, Bologna, 2009

Nomisma, la filiera agroalimentare tra successi, aspettative e nuove mitologie, Roma, 28 ottobre 2009

la mafia è servita, L’Espresso, 28 maggio 2009

1957

The first supermarket in Milan

90

Superette/minimarket 200 - 400 m2

Supermarket 400 - 2500 m2

Ipermarket 2500 m2

The term GDO (grande distribuzione organizzata or mass retail channel) represents the modern retail establishment through a network of supermarkets. It corresponds to the evolution of the traditional and single market. The GDO is constituted by different PDV (punti di vendita or selling points) which are classified according to their surface:

Superette/minimarketThe first historical form of modern retail is the superette or minimarket. It is the evolution of the traditional grocer’s shop outside house.

Supermarket The supermatket is usually placed in a residential area or in a commercial center close to the city. The first italian supermatket was built in Milan in 1957 with the name “Supermarket”. In these places the prices are lower then the traditional market and they are characterized by a large amount of different products.

IpermarketThe ipermarket is a big retail area. The amount of products, both food and no-food, is much higher than the supermarket. It is placed in extra-urban areas with a wide opening time and aggressive price policies.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

1 Saverio Pipitone, Shock shopping: la malattia che ci consuma, Bologna, 2009

GdO (grande distribuzione organizzata)00

92

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

250.000

500.000

Ipermarket

Retail area [m2] in the province of Milan

Supermarket

Total

from 106 m2 (2000) to 147 m2 (2010) every 1000 inhabitants (+39%)

GdO in Milan

The first supermarket in Italy opened up in Milan in 1957:

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: ASR lombardia2. Saverio Pipitone, Shock shopping: la malattia che ci consuma, Bologna, 2009

“Per i milanesi, abituati alle piccole botteghe di quartiere, si tratta di un meccanismo bizzarro e in un primo momento il successo è poco evidente. In quegli anni, l’industria alimentare italiana non è pronta per la grande distribuzione: propone per la maggior parte prodotti sfusi, non confezionati, destinati al banco del piccolo commerciante e del venditore ambulante; ma la produzione industriale, l’occupazione e le spese per i consumi cresono rapidamente, sopratutto nel “triangolo industriale” Milano-Torino-Genova. [...]”2

From the first market a lot of years has passed. Today our main food system works through GDO and above all supermarkets. Looking at the retail area of ipermarkets and supermarkets in the last decade, it is possible to notice a continuous increasing in surface:

93 94

Markets in Milan

Ipermarket and market Minimarket, covered and not covered market

IpermarketSupermarket

MarketCovered marketNot covered market

95 96

Worldwide import of fruit and vegetable

97 98

Import of fruit and vegetable

Sicilia (1.001.280)

Puglia (921.950)

Emilia-Romagna (394.955)

Campania (356.835)

Lazio (352.095)

Trentino Alto Adige (278.610)

Umbria (260.030)

Veneto (243.105)

Lombardia (231.425)

Piemonte (215.890)

Abruzzo (149.090)

Sardegna (92.975)

Basilicata (54.950)

Toscana (22.920)

Marche (21.666)

Liguria (18.160)

Friuli Venezia Giulia (0)

Valle D’Aosta (0)

Spagna (698.830)

Francia (119.520)

Olanda (150.220)

Germania (36.765)

Grecia (25.360)

Total import of fruit and vegetables in Milan [q]

99 100

Consumer

Bibliography

Peter Menzel, Faith D’Aluisio, hungry planet: what the world eats, Napa - California, 2005

Elena Angela Peta, Consumi agro-alimentari in Italia e nuove tecnologie, Ministero dello sviluppo economico

Garrone Paola, Melacini Marco, Perego Alessandro, dar da mangiare agli affamati. le eccedenze alimentari come opportunità, Guerini e associati, 2012

The amount of trash food per week:

2,7 kg/family

104

What goes into the trash

39% (fresh products: mozzarella, meat, yogurt, ...)

19% (bread)

17% (fruits and vegetables)

10% (sliced meat)

6% (packed products (salad)

3% (tinned food)

2% (frozen food)

39% (excess generic purchasing)

24% (expired or rotten products )

21% (excess purchasing due to offers for sale)

9% (news not pleasant)

7% (not necessary products)

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: Adoc

600 € is the amount of money that a family throw away with food every year

In a recent study “Dar da mangiare agli affamati. Le eccedenze alimentari come opportunità“ done by Fondazione per la Sussidiarieta’ and Politecnico di Milano with the collaboration of Nielsen Italia comes out that every year a person through away 42 Kg of food. This amount of food can be divided in this way:

The reasons for which a person throw away food are multiple. The following data show that the main reason for which people are so careless can be bring back to the distribution system or GDO. In fact the majority of us buy more food than what they really need and more frequently this is due to special offers that supermarkets organize to attract costumers.

03 REflECTIONS

107 108

Can urban agriculture feed Milan?

In a recent study published february 2012 in “Cities”, Sharanbir Grewal and Parwinder Grewal ask themselves if a city, in their case Cleveland, can become self-reliant in food.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

1. Sharanbir Grewal, Parwinder Grewal, Can cities become self-reliant in food?, Cities, February 20122. Pierluigi Nicolin, The beauty of urban Agriculture, Lotus 149, May 2012

“Modern cities almost exclusively rely on the import of resources to meet their daily basic needs. Food and other essential materials and goods are transported from long-distances, often across continents, which results in the emission of harmful greenhouse gasses. As more people now live in cities than rural areas and all future population growth is expected to occur in cities, the potential for local self-reliance in food for a typical post-industrial North American city was determined.”

In the introduction they stated that globalization had a negative effect on local self-reliace:

“Globalization has been one of the most enchanting experiences of human civilization. It has facilitated the exchange of information and ideas, advancing technology and progress to heights never even envisioned by generations past. [...] Yet, globalization has inflicted externalities on both local communities and the global environment. First, globalization undermines local economic resilience, creating an unnecessary and unhealthy dependence on foreign goods which communities could produce at home. Likewise, globalization undermines the autonomy of local communities. As multinational corporations increase their economic and political influence, communities lose control over their most basic necessities, such as food and energy. Corporations have no economic incentive to preserve the environment and the culture of global goods transportation results in tremendous greenhouse gas emissions. [...] As a result of globalization, the consumer has been separated from the producer and thereby no longer witnesses the detrimental effects of consumerism: depletion of finite resources, pollution of natural environments, and accumulation of waste.”

Then they defined what is local self-reliace:

Local self-reliance refers to the principle that localities should be able to obtain at least their basic necessities, if not more of their goods, from within their own physical footprints. Local self-reliance encourages communities to use their limited resources in the most efficient and sustainable manner, and grants localities both autonomy and economic resilience, counteracting the major negative externalities of globalization. Local self-reliance can be applied at different scales, including household,

neighborhood, city, region, and even country. Self-reliance in terms of daily food needs requires the production of food within urbanized areas. Food production in the cities can take many forms, including home gardens, community gardens, market gardens, school gardens, rooftop gardens, windowsill gardens, aquaculture, and urban farms, among others.”1

And finally they prodposed a general formula, that has to be applied for each group of food, which defines the percentage of self reliance :

With this formula, we are able to determine the potential for self-reliance in food for a specific city. To define the self-reliance in food for Milan we need to know which is the area that can be potentially cultivated. Contrary to what has been done in Detroit, Milan has never counted the total cultivable land or space. At the same time is difficult to define the quantity of products that a unit piece of land can produce. However using the number that David Montgomery defined as the minimum to feed a person for one year, it comes out that according to the number of inhabitants, in Milan we need a surface fifteen times higher than the actual size.This means that a perfect self-reliance is nearly impossible without changing the skyline of the city with systems such as vetrical farms that are able to concentrate in a small surface an high production, multypling by five the output that can be reached on a traditional agricultural land. What can be done is to reduce the dependence on the actual distribution system.In Milan and in many other cities around the world, the movement of urban agriculture has born in response to a several real needs. The production of food is just one of the goal that the urban farming movement and as Pierluigi Nicolin stated in a recent article:

“The phenomenon could have repercussions on the visualconventions of the urban and suburban enviroment and even affect the bahevior and lifestyles of city dwellers should it develop on a larger scale. In fact the first effects of this phenomenon can already be seen in the way that some people living in cities are trying to recover the sense of the day/night cycle, of seasonal rhythms.”2

109 110

urban agriculture in Milan

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: diAp

A still ongoing study done by a group of research workers at the Politecnico di Milano focuses on the presence of the movement of urban farming in the city of Milan. In a recent article published in Territorio, Francesca Cognetti and Serena Conti stated:

Exhisting urban farms in Milan

“At a first sight, in Italy, the phenomenon seems to be reconstructed mainly through the composition of isolated facts related to the more established urban gardens. However, in recent years the spreading and above all the differentiation of urban agriculture practices are taking proportions that leave glimpse a potential passage from a small set of episodes to a more dense urban phenomenon with a relevant importance. In Milan, over the consolidated experiences, in the last years a lot of projects related to urban agriculture are born: neighbourhood gardens related to social association, didactic gardens cultivated in the schools by groups of parents and children, therapeutical garden, flowerbed and abandoned spaces transformed by groups of occasional gardeners, small gardens to self-produce in social spaces, and also vegetable gardens integrated in numerous urban parks. ”1

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

1. Francesca Cognetti, Serena Conti, Milano, coltivazione urbana e percorsi di vita in comune. Note da una ricerca in corso , Territorio, March 2012

The following investigation is a collection of several urban farms that following the above mentioned research can be divided in two following categories:

- garden as device

- personal garden

The first one can be considered as something that has to do both with cultivation and social practices. In this case a group of people meet together and face the cultivation as a tool to collaborate and create a new way to socialize or solve other kind of problems. Personal gardens are run by privates and the cultivation is the predominant aspect of having a vegetable garden.

112

Orti comunali del parco Alessandrini

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: www.comune.milano.it

114

Orti di via Chiodi

This is an extremely interesting case for Milan, with a brand new management model, where the private sector guarantee the public offering. From the design point of view, the gardens of Via Chiodi are an open air laboratory. The three different areas that make up the lot, incrementally realized, represent an evolution that took into account both positive and critical issues noted time after time. This has obviously resulted in a certain lack of homogeneity, which added to the presence of umbrellas, gazebos, furniture individually managed by the tenants, generates a sense of disorder. The most interesting feature of the gardens of Via Chiodi is the presence of different social groups, which alternate at different times of the day and mix during peak hours, and make the whole horticultural very lively.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: www.angoliditerra.org/

116

Orti comunali del parco Nord

The first 35 gardens in the park were built and regulated in the late ‘80s, according to a revitalization strategy of the bands of the park closer to the city for the elderly, with a specific design philosophy and management. Special regulations of the Gardens governs the allocation and management requests of the garden.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: www.parconord.milano.it/spazi-e-attrezzature/170

118

piano Terra

120

I Giardini del Sole

122

Cascina Cuccagna

124

Ortinconca

126

landgrab

128

Movimento italiano Guerrilla Gardening

Guerrilla Gardening is a group open to everybody that has a passion for green which is able to positively interact with the urban space through small demonstrative acts that they call “green atacks”. Guerrilla Gardening opposes urban decay acting against neglicence of green areas. The main activity of the group is to shape and beautify with plants and flowers the flwerbeds and the dismissed areas. The movement is born in 2006 thanks to a group of young Milanese people (founders of GuerrillaGardening.it) that is still following and suggesting independent groups strewn in Italy. The group is helped by the urban population that give them plants, materials and tools.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: www.guerrillagardening.it

130

Il Giardino degli aromi

132

libero orto

04 CASE STudIES

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION

BUILDING INTEGRATION

ENERGY REQUIRED

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST

136

lotus in the fields

A recent number of Lotus International made a selection of the most recent projects and ideas in the field of urban and periurban agriculture. The following pages are a collection of the different typologies found in the above mentioned magazine, organized through files that want to analyze the devices used and a possible use in the Milanese context. On the first page of each typology there is a valutation that take into account several factors: size, production, social impact, self-organization, building integration, energy required and cost.

“40 sqm are able to cover the amount of vegetables consumed by a family of 4 people during summer season”

= 20,28 sqm/year

Then through a simplified calculation a sort of prevision was possible. The data can give the idea of the amount of people that the considered typology is able to feed. The calculation was made using this prerequisite:

Front yard

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: Edible Estates - A project by Fritz Haeg, USA, 2010

HIGHMUIDEM0 LOW

COST138

Gardening tools

Compost bin

Watering can

Seeds

rake, shovel,broom, ...

It produces fertilizer andsoil amendment from

organic waste

used to give water to the plants

used to grow plants

Bucket

used to collect the waterthat passes through

the containers

Earthbag

used to create the right soilfor the plants

KEY DEVICE: Gardening tools OPPORTUNITY MAP

80.000 sqmFront yards

EXAMPLE: Piazza Vigili del Fuoco

LAT 45° 27' 55.6344" N

LON 9° 11' 11.457" E

0,04% of the Milanese surface

3945 people0,29% of the Milanese population

Population fed

139 140

CURRENT SITUATION FUTURE VISION

Park

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: Shelby Farms Park Master Plan, Memphis, 2008

HIGHMUIDEM0 LOW

COST144

KEY DEVICE: Farm tools

Tractor

used for hauling farm equipmentsuch as plough

Thresher

it separates grain fromcorn or other crops

Farming tools

rake, shovel, broom, ...

Fertilizer

used to increase soilfertility

Seeds

used to grow plants

OPPORTUNITY MAP

Parks and green areas

EXAMPLE: Parco Sempione

LAT 45° 28' 18.7212" N

LON 9° 10' 49.659" E

13.035.558 sqm7,17% of the Milanese surface

642.779 people47,60% of the Milanese population

Population fed

145 146


Installation

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: PF1, New York, 2008

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST150

KEY DEVICE: Installation unit

Planter liner

magna moist organicplanter lining

Cardboard tube

to support the planting

Irrigation tube

divided in segmentsfor localized watering

MDF base

perforated base toguarantee drainage

Organic fertilized soil

used to increase soilfertility

OPPORTUNITY MAP

EXAMPLE: Via Amperè

LAT 45° 28' 47.761" N

LON 9° 13' 35.472" E

0 sqmInstallations

0% of the Milanese surface

0 people0% of the Milanese population

Population fed

151 152


Infrastructure

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: ETAR de Alcântara, Lisboa, 2005 -

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST156

KEY DEVICE: Farming tools

Separation panels

used to define differentsectors or fields

Farming tools

rake, shovel, broom, ...

Compost bin

it produces fertilizerand soil amendment fromorganic waste

Earthbag

used to give the proper soilfor the plants

Watering can

used to give waterto the plants

Seeds

used to grow plants

Bucket

used to collect rainwater

1.300.000 sqmAbandoned railway station



Population fed

OPPORTUNITY MAP

EXAMPLE: Scalo Farini

LAT 45° 29' 24.763" N

LON 9° 10' 22.184" E

157 158


Rooftop greenhouse

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: Eli Zabar, New York, 1995

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST162

Shelves

Structure

Used to store tools, raw materials, ...

It represents the containingstructure of the system

KEY DEVICE: Courtirey system

Water tank

Used to store rainwater

Compost bin

Used to produce fertilizer and soilamendment from organic waste

Additional bins

Used by necessity

Cultivation tanks

Containers to grow plants

OPPORTUNITY MAP

EXAMPLE: Via Alzaia Naviglio Grande

LAT 45° 27' 5.803" N

LON 9° 10' 24.509" E

40.108 sqmRooftop greenhouses



Population fed

163 164


Greenhouse building

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: The greenhouse building, Xi’an City, China, 2009-11

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST168

Gardening tools

Compost bin

Watering can

Seeds



organic waste


used to grow plants

Bucket


the containers

Earthbag



EXAMPLE: Parco Nord

LAT 45° 27' 5.803" N

LON 9° 10' 24.509" E

860.350 sqmGreenhouse buildings



Population fed

169 170


Vacant lot

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: Place au Changement, Saint-Etienne, France, 2011

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST174

KEY DEVICE: Gardening tools

Wooden box

used in case of bigger spacesto contain the soil

Pallet

used in small spaces to sustain the pots for

a vertical garden

Gardening tools

rake, small shovel, ...

Earthbag

used to fill the containersand create the soil for

the plants

Bucket

to collect rainwater

Watering can


Flowerpot

used with the pallet to createa vertical garden

OPPORTUNITY MAP

EXAMPLE: Porta Volta

LAT 45° 28' 53.919" N

LON 9° 11' 1.654" E

60.793 sqmVacant lot



Population fed

OPPORTUNITY MAP

EXAMPLE: Porta Volta

LAT 45° 28' 53.919" N

LON 9° 11' 1.654" E




Population fed

175 176

EXHISTING SITUATION Giardino temporaneo porta VoltaAtelier delle Verdure, Blulab/Building

Urban interstice

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: Le 56 / Eco-interstice, Paris, France, 2006-09

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST180

Gardening tools

Compost bin

Watering can

Seeds



organic waste


used to grow plants

Bucket


the containers

Earthbag



EXAMPLE: Via Santa Maria alla Porta

LAT 45° 27' 55.113" N

LON 9° 10' 54.360" E

16.789 sqmUrban interstices



Population fed

181 182


Allotments

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

EXAMPLE: The Fenway Victory Garden, Boston

HIGH0 MEDIUMLOW

COST186

Gardening tools

Compost bin

Watering can

Seeds



organic waste


used to grow plants

Bucket


the containers

Earthbag



EXAMPLE: Parco Alessandrini

LAT 45° 26' 56.847" N

LON 9° 13' 45.474" E

252.677 sqmAllottment



Population fed

187 188

EXHISTING SITUATION Orti di parco Alessandrini

Balcony

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

HIGH

EXAMPLE: Pasona urban farm, Tokyo, 2010

0 MEDIUMLOW

COST192

KEY DEVICE: Gardening tools

Wooden box

used in case of bigger spacesto contain the soil

Pallet

used in small spaces to sustain the pots for

a vertical garden

Gardening tools

rake, small shovel, ...

Earthbag

used to fill the containersand create the soil for

the plants

Bucket

to collect rainwater

Watering can


Flowerpot

used with the pallet to createa vertical garden

OPPORTUNITY MAP

EXAMPLE: Via Conca del Naviglio

LAT 45° 27' 21.915" N

LON 9° 10' 39.904" E

1.750.000 sqmBalcony



Population fed

193 194


Farming tower

SIZE

PRODUCTION

SOCIAL IMPACT

SELF-ORGANIZATION


ENERGY REQUIRED

0 HIGH

EXAMPLE: The Living Tower, Paris, France

MEDIUMLOW

198

KEY DEVICE: Hydroponic system

Artificial lights

Container

Water tank

Water pump

Fishes

used to replace the sunlight

Filled with expanded clay that actsas soil for the plants

used to collect clean waterfilled with the rightamount of nutrients

It pumps the water through the system

Water tank


the containers

often used toclean the water in

a natural way

Nutrients

they give the rightsustenance to the plants

OPPORTUNITY MAP

163.968 sqmUrban skeletons

EXAMPLE: Via Don B. Grazioli

LAT 45° 30' 32.3418" N

LON 9° 10' 20.913" E



Population fed

199 200


1.750.000 sqmBalcony



Population fed

10. Balcony

13.035.558 sqmParks



Population fed

02. Park

252.677 sqmAllottment



Population fed

09. Allottment

80.000 sqmPrivate gardens



Population fed

01. Front yard

860.350 sqmGreenhouse buildiings



Population fed

06. Greenhouse building

40.108 sqmRooftop greenhouses



Population fed

05. Rooftop greenhouse

1.300.000 sqmAbandoned railway station



Population fed

04. Infrastructure

163.968 sqmUrban skeletons



Population fed

11. Farming tower

0 sqmInstallations

0% of the Milanese surface

0 people0% of the Milanese population

Population fed

03. Installation

16.789 sqmUrban interstices



Population fed

08. Urban interstice




Population fed

07. Vacant lot

203 204

Summary

205 206

Conclusion

Through a quick look at the summary is immediately possible to recognize three main categories:

63,13% of the Milanese population

(Milan: 1.350.267 inhabitants)

1,00 %

Typologies that are able to feed less than 1 % of the total Milanese population:

- front yards

- installations

- rooftop greenhouses

- vacant lots

- urban interstices

- allottments

- farming towers

7,00 %

Typologies that are able to feed less than 7 % of the total Milanese population:

- infrastructures

- greenhouse buildings

- balconies

47,60 %

Percentage of Milanese population that parks are able to sustain

From the sum of all the typologies is possible to find the total amount of people feed by urban farming:

The result coming out of the summing up is of course a theoretical number. Not all the surface can be continuously produced and in some cases certain typologies are subject to weather conditions and many other factors that can reduce production and yield performance. At the same time some typologies are not intended just for consumption but they have a more profound meaning: influencing and teaching people that food is an important matter and it has not to be underestimate. The social impact that a vegetable garden in a small bacony can have, even with its small surface, can be extremely important and can change the way we see food.Furthemore we have to consider that around the Milanese municipality there is a periurban context that is characterized by a few agricultural realities. This means that the percentage given by urban faming should be sum up to that production. In coclusion is possible to state that is not necessary to exploit the entire resources required by each typology of urban agriculture because the exhisting context can provide a certain level of sustainability.In my opinion a real challenge can be provide directly by the institutions, such as schools and universities, that have the goal to set up and at the same time shape our future. This conclusion will influence the next chapter of this thesis because the design proposal will be part of a recent project called “sustainable campus”. A project, directed by several universities in the world, in which the Politecnico di Milano has an important role.

The huge difference between the last category and the previous ones is mainly due to the amount of surface that the category “park” has in Milan. Some of the listed typologies, such as allottments and balconies, have already found space in Milan while several are burdensome mainly because of the costs.

05 dESIGN pROpOSAl

209 210

Sustainable campus

212

Sustainable campus

Città Studi Campus Sostenibile is a project promoted by Politecnico di Milano and Università di Milano. The project aims at transforming the whole campus neighborhood into an urban area being exemplar in Milan with respect to life quality and environmental sustainability. The project is open to the participation and support of researchers, students and all campus citizens.

Goals of the project:

- Experiment innovation developed by scientific research;

- Life style transformation and more livable spaces;

- Rethinking lifestyles and building more comfortable enviroments;

- Become a good example for the whole city;

- Cope with the international network of sustainable campuses;

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: http://www.eugeniomorello.eu/campus.html

213 214

polimi campus

17.484 Students(91% of the entire campus community)

1.748 Employees(9% of the entire campus community)

Tot. 1.451 People

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: Vivibilità, sostenibilità e identità per il progetto Città Studi Campus Sostenibilie, Alessandro Balducci e Manuela Grecchi

Daily average consumption per person:

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: Istat

236 gr/day

213 gr/day

vegetables

fruits

(53%)

(47%)

Tot. 651 Kg/day(237.615 Kg/year)

Amount of food that need to be produced to feed the entire Polimi community:

According to a recent reserch conducted by The Sapienza University of Rome, 8,3 % is the percentage of students that use the canteen provided by the university. This means that for the Polimi campus the total amount of students to feed everyday for at least one meal is:

215 216

Greenhouse

Shaw’s Garden, 1915

A possible solution

219 220

function principle

Shortwave radiation

Reflection

Absorption

Longwave radiation

Reflection

Plants heat up and emit long-wave radiation

“During sun radiation the inner temperature of the greenhouse is increasing rapidly and significant, compared to air and ground temperature outside the greenhouse. The reason for that is some kind of heat congestion.The energy of the sun-radiation is heating up the ground, the plants and parts of the greenhouse, however the heat generated from the plants and the ground (infrared) is kept inside because of the impermeable roofing system.Hovewer during a standard sunny day, the inside temperature can climb up to plant harming 35°C and even higher. Therefore is vital to ventilate the greenhouses. To diversify the greenhouses depending on inside temperature:

Cold-housesfor temperature below 12°C

Tempered-houses for temperatures between 12°C - 18°C

hot-houses for temperature over 18°C”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: Food in Basel II, ETH Studio Basel

221 222

Air ventilation Energy production

Interior shading Rainwater harvesting

Heating system Lighting system

AIR VENTIlATION

During strong sun radiation in summertime or strong heating power the temperature can climb rapidly up to more than 35°C. Such or even higher temperature are hampering the growth of many plants within shirt time.Higher temperatures are coming together with high humidity, which contributes to fungal attack of the plants. The topic ventilation is often neglected but also important. Even in our climate the ventilation is certainly required.

ENERGy pROduCTION

To make a greenhouse more indipendent is necessary to use photovoltaic panels, which produce electricity for the heating system, lighting system, ...

ShAdOW SySTEMS

Shadows systems are preventing strong sun radiation entering the greenhouse and turning into heat.

RAINWATER hARVESTING

Water is a fundamental part of the system. For this reason it has to be collected in special tanks, in order to reduce water consumption.

hEATING SySTEMS

As soon as the greenhouse shall be utilized throughout the year a heating system is required. Depending on the utilization of the greenhouse the performance of the heating system needs to be

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: Food in Basel II, ETH Studio Basel

The machine

accordingly in order to keep the temperature during wintertime constant to a fixed level.

lIGhTING SySTEMS

The lighting system is an important component for plants’ growth. In greenhouses is used to stimulate the growth even during winter season to maintain the production.

223 224

Without soil On soil

farming methods

225 226

CuCuMBERCucumis sativus L.

Envi

rom

enta

l bri

ghtn

ess

Rel

ativ

e hu

mid

ity [%

]

Tem

pera

ture

ran

ge [°

C]

Air

repl

acem

ent

With

soi

l

With

out s

oil

Size

++

TOMATOLycopersicon esculentum Mill.

+78-8418-20++

Cons

umpt

ion

[%]

2,11

25,18+++ 20-21 65-80 +++ +++

pOTATOSolanum tuberosum L.

36+++ 7-10 90 ++ +

ZuCChINICucurbita pepo L.

12,5+++ 25-35 65-80 ++ +

lETTuCELactuca sativa L.

3,7++ 14-18 60-80 ++ +

BEANPhaseolus vulgaris L.

0,35++ 16-20 60-75 ++ ++

ChARdBeta vulgaris L.

3,34++ 18-22 60-70 ++ +

pEAPisum sativum L.

1,32++ 16-20 65-75 ++ ++

EGGplANTSolanum melongena L.

6,34+++ 22-27 50-60 + +++

pEppERCapsicum annuum L.

7,66++ 20-25 50-60 ++ +++

CElERyApium graveolens L.

0,18++ 18-25 65-80 ++ +

SpINAChSpinacia oleracea L.

1,32++ 15-18 60-80 ++ +

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Source: http://www.solerpalau.it/

pedoclimatic characteristics

The main goal of greenhouses is both to obtain high-yeld production and high quality products even in not favorable enviromental conditions.The inner enviroment of a greenhouse should ensure the proper conditions for plants growth. Climatization regulates concentration of carbon dioxide, oxygen, temperature, humidity and brightness together with other factors that have to be present in a balanced way.On the opposite page is represented a selection of the vegetables that have the major rate of consumption among students. Each type of veggie has optimal conditions in which it can live

TEMpERATuRETemperature acts on the vital functions of the plants and it is generally critical below 0°C or above 70°C. Over these limits the plant will die or hibernate.

huMIdITyHumidity of the air inside a greenhouse is essential for plant life. Intervenes on growth, transpiration, flowers fertilization and in the development of several diseases when it is excessive. If humidity is too high it makes evporation more difficult and it can be corrected with ventilation and increasing temperature. If it is too low, it increases transpiration preventing photosyntesis process and can be prevented with irrigation.

227 228

design

229 230

program

95% Farming

5% Other(Canteen, market, education)

231 232

AREA SElECTION

Selection of the roof with a surface higher than 100 sqm and with an adequate substructure to install the greenhouse.

Rule farming module

3000 mm

500 500500 + 500700 700

lOW IMpACT

To reduce impact visibility, the perimeter of the greenhouse has been reduced.

MOdulAR GRId

The size of the grid is determined by the farming module 3 x 3 m and by the length of the polycarbonate wall boards.

ThE RESulT

To maintain the previous aspect of the building the structure of the greenhouse will inherit the same roof configuration.

233 234

1 Solar panels made with cylindrical modules incorporating a thin film

2 Polycarbonate panels

3 Gutter for rainwater harvesting

4 Secondary steel structure

5 Primary steel structure

6 Secondary steel structure to support external panels

7 Polycarbonate panels

Construction system

8 Curtain walls to allow air change

9 Fans to allow air ventilation

10 Raised floor

11 Steel space frame

12 Technical plants (water, electricity ...)

13 Ventilated roof fot the exhisting structure

1

23

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

1213

235 236

distribution

The selection process of the rooftops has identified a certain amount of roofs to be turned into greenhouses.Then the program defines the number of modules to be used as farming, market, university canteen and educational space. The farming units are then grouped according to the consumption percentage of the vegetable species.The result of this project satisfies the annual demand of vegetables used by the Polimi canteen which is 1.451 meals per day.

CuCuMBER24 modules

TOMATO286 modules

pOTATO409 modules

ZuCChINI137 modules

lETTuCE42 modules

BEAN4 modules

ChARd38 modules

pEA15 modules

EGGplANT72 modules

pEppER77 modules

CElERy2 modules

SpINACh15 modules

Tot. 2.018 meals a day*Amount of meals that the Polimi campus will be able to satisfy:

*Considering that the amount of greenhouse surface to feed a person in a year is around 10 sqm.

fARMING1425 modules

OThER28 modules

VEGETABlE SpECIES

pROGRAM SuBdIVISION

Scale 1:2000

239

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

241

LEGEND

Canteen

Exposition

Market

Services

Scale 1:500

243

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

245

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

247

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

249

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

251

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

253

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

255

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

257

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

259

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

261

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

263

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

265

LEGEND

Circulation

Production

Services

Scale 1:500

267 268

Scale 1:200

269 270

Scale 1:200

271 272

273 274

Scale 1:200

275 276

Scale 1:200

277 278

Scale 1:200

280

1 Cylindrical modules incorporating a thin film, th. 50 mm

2 Polycarbonate panels, th. 30 mm

3 Squared steel tube, 50 x 50 x 3 mm

4 Squared steel beam, 100 x 100 x 5 mm

5 Squared steel column, 100 x 100 x 5 mm


7 Polycarbonte panels with aluminium frames, th. 30 mm

detail 01

1

2

3

567

4

282

1

2

3

4

detail 02

1

234

Squared steel tube, 50 x 50 x 3 mm

Squared steel column, 100 x 100 x 5 mm


Polycarbonte panels with aluminium frames, th. 30 mm

284

1

2

3

4

detail 03

1

987


Aluminium profile, h. 55 mm

Floor tiles, th. 50 mm

Supporting modules, h. 150 mm

2

3

4

5

6

5 Space frame with squared steel tube, 50 x 50 x 3 mm

6 Steel tie-rot, th. 8 mm

7 Polycarbonte panels with aluminium frames, th. 30 mm

8

9


Squared steel column, 100 x 100 x 5 mm

286

1

2

3

4

detail 04

Folded aluminium sheet, th. 3 mm


1

5

2

3

4

Floor tiles, th. 50 mm

Supporting modules, h. 150 mm

Space frame with squared steel tube, 50 x 50 x 3 mm

287 288

Shots

06BIBlIOGRAphy

297 298

- Carolyn Steel, hungry city: how food shapes our lives, Vintage, London, 2009

- Carlo Petrini, Terra Madre, Giunti Editore, Milano, 2009

- Michael Pollan, In defense of food: an eater’s manifesto, Penguin press, London , 2008

- Michael Pollan, The omnivore’s dilemma, Penguin press, London, 2006

- Michael Pollan, farmer in chief, The New York Times, 9th October 2008

- Paul Roberts, The end of food, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2008

- Paul Roberts, Today’s food crisis isn’t a blip, USA Today, 22nd May 2008

- WWf living planet report, 2012

- FAO, The State of the World’s land and Water Resources for food and Agriculture, 2011

- European commission, Overview of best practices for limiting soil sealing or mitigating its effects in Eu-27, 2011

- Steve Odland, Why are prices of food so high?, Forbes, March 2012

- David R. Montgomery, Is agriculture eroding civilization’s foundation?, GSA Today, October 2007

- Leslie Beerliant, dishing dirt with david Montgomery, Celsias, February 2008

- Larry Gallagher, The joy of dirt, Odewire, March 2010

- Natasha Gilbert, Summit urged to clean up farming, Nature, November 2011

- Ugo Bardi, Getting our land back, cassandralegacy.blogspot.it, 17th April 2012

- Jason Bradford, Oil and food prices, energybulletin.net, January 2011

- Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Eating fossil fuels, The Wilderness Publications, 2004

- David Pimentel, Mario Giampietro, food, land, population and the u.S. Economy, Carrying Capacity Network, 1994

- GBI Research, Agricultural chemicals market to 2015, May 2011

- Elisabeth Rosenthal, putting pollution on grocery bills, The New York Times, 25th April 2008

- Robyn Lewis, Felicity Lawrence, Andy Jones, Miles and miles and miles, The Guardian, 10th May 2003

- Jodie Humphries, The impact of domestic food waste on climate change, nextgenerationfood.com, April 2010

- ERSAF, l’uso del suolo in lombardia negli ultimi 50 anni, Milano, 2011

- European commission, Soil Atlas of Europe, 2005

- VVAA, dictionary of agriculture, London, 2006

- Piero Bellini, Pier Luigi Ghisleni, Agronomia generale, Torino, 1987

- Francesco Bonciarelli, fondamenti di agronomia generale, Bologna, 1989

- Francesca Natali, Appunti del corso di agronomia generale

- Anna Della Marta, Appunti del corso di tecniche agronomiche e culturali per la conservazione del territorio

- VVAA, le scienze della terra, Franco Lucisano editore, 2008

- Saverio Pipitone, Shock shopping: la malattia che ci consuma, Bologna, 2009

- Nomisma, la filiera agroalimentare tra successi, aspettative e nuove mitologie, Roma, 28 ottobre 2009

- Paolo Biondani, la mafia è servita, L’Espresso, 28 maggio 2009

- Peter Menzel, Faith D’Aluisio, hungry planet: what the world eats, Napa - California, 2005

- Garrone Paola, Melacini Marco, Perego Alessandro, dar da mangiare agli affamati. le eccedenze alimentari come opportunità, Guerini e associati, 2012 - Alessandra Mangiarotti, Nuovi risparmi, vecchi sprechi, Corriere della sera, 13th July 2008

- Stefano Boeri, Biomilano, glossario di idee per una metropoli della biodiversità, Corraini edizioni, 2011

- Dickson Despommier, The vertical farm, feeding the world in the 21st century, Picador, 2011

- VVAA, Nature design, Lars Muller publisher, 2007

- Massimo Acanfora, Coltiviamo la città, Altreconomia edizioni, 2012

- VVAA, On farming, Actar, 2010

- VVAA, Il piacere dell’orto, Slow Food editore, 2010

Books & documents

299 300

Web references

- www.wwf.org

- www.fao.org

- www.usgs.gov

- www.isric.org

- www.cool2012.com

- www.nextgenerationfood.com

- www.eia.gov

- www.usda.gov

- www.fda.gov

- www.corriereagricolo.it

- www.istat.it

- www.arpalombardia.it

- www.ersaf.lombardia.it

- www.pim.mi.it

- www.legambiente.it

- www.isprambiente.gov.it

- www.bafu.admin.ch

- www.provincia.mi.it

- www.adocnazionale.it

- www.dastu.polimi.it

- www.comune.milano.it

- www.angoliditerra.org

- www.parconord.milano.it

- www.guerrillagardening.it

- www.editorialelotus.it

- www.campus-sostenibile.polimi.it

- www.eugeniomorello.eu

- www.studio-basel.com

- www.solerpalau.it

301 302

thanks to:

Elisa Prof. Gennaro Postiglione

My family

and all the people involved in this work.

CREdITS

Workyourfingers©

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