Milan's Green Transformation: Agroscalo 2020 and Isola Pepe Verde

Milan is undergoing urban renewal, with two green projects addressing the city's evolving morphology. Agroscalo 2020, by architects Andrea Caputo and Salvatore Porcaro, was selected after a call by FS Sistemi Urbani and Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane. The project repurposes the Porta Genova railway yard with fields, greenhouses, and a market for 'Kilometer Zero' development, promoting a sustainable lifestyle that bridges city and countryside. It includes cultivation of over 150 species of herbs, sprouts, flowers, and vegetables near fitness and play areas. Meanwhile, in the Isola district, the Isola Pepe Verde community garden—a shared green space hidden in the shadow of Porta Nuova—is the subject of a call titled Sprouting Minds. This competition invites architects and artists to redesign the garden, focusing on its play area. The concept revolves around play as a spatiotemporal practice fostering imagination in children and as an alternative to the city's oppositional norms. Though different in scale and approach, both projects aim to serve the Milanese community with innovative green spaces offering services currently scarce in the city.