Urban regeneration through urban farming. Turin and Paris: two case studies

This paper discusses the role of agriculture in urban regeneration, with a focus on the action-research project OrtiAlti in Turin (Italy). Similarly to other experiences currently running in cites like Paris, OrtiAlti is set up to revitalize abandoned or under-utilized urban buildings through rooftop community gardens. Rooftop food gardens can play a role as urban regeneration devices, by combining environmental and social benefits, levering on food production as a mediating function, and including new economic and social actors as subjects able to produce values of collective interest for the community.