Exploring a Nature-Positive format for the Wellness City

The Green City of the future conceives Nature as a true driver of transformation, interweaving social connection, sport, and wellbeing into a shared urban vision. At the tenth edition of Myplant&Garden, the “Green Olympics,” we explored this vision in dialogue with Green City Italia, Wellness Foundation, and a network of institutions shaping Milan as a city open to innovation and systemic change. The goal is ambitious: to define internationally replicable wellbeing models capable of carrying forward the legacy of the Winter Olympic Games.

The panel “Green for Wellbeing: The Path Toward the Wellness City” opened Myplant & Garden 2026, Italy’s leading trade fair for horticulture, gardening, and landscape design, framing a discussion that moved beyond aesthetics to the cultural and structural role of urban nature.

Moderated by Giovanni Sala, the debate began with Francesca De Cesare from the Directorate-General for Territory and Green Systems of Regione Lombardia. She outlined the regional Parks and Protected Areas system, which covers nearly one-third of Lombardy and promotes environmental education initiatives for students, professionals, and citizens alike.

The Olympic legacy is central to the mission of Milano Wellness City 2030, a project launched by  Wellness Foundation, represented by Director Federica Alberti:

“Wellness Foundation has long been actively committed to promoting healthy lifestyles and a culture of physical and mental wellbeing, bringing these issues to the attention of stakeholders and international / European institutions. Wellness is a lifestyle choice that combines regular exercise, healthy nutrition and a positive mental approach. We all have a responsibility to care for our health, starting with our cities. Health is built in homes and on streets, in public spaces and during major sporting events. That is why we launched Milano Wellness City 2030, gathering a very diverse working group: to leave a mark and contribute to quality of life, starting from Milan’s network of excellence but with a broad international outlook.”

Wellbeing also means nutrition, as highlighted by Elena Dogliotti, biologist and Scientific Supervisor at Fondazione Veronesi:

“Inspired by the vision of Umberto Veronesi to make health accessible to all, the Foundation works to prevent eating disorders and smoking from an early age. Its educational programs bring clear, accessible health messages into schools, empowering children to understand how lifestyle, environment, and daily choices profoundly shape long-term well-being. Through research, scientific dissemination, education, and advocacy, we promote a culture of prevention by highlighting the connection between human health and planetary health.”

Education as a driver of wellbeing was further explored by Manuela Strada of Fondazione Minoprio. In collaboration with Regione Lombardia and Fondazione Cariplo, the foundation promotes an experiential approach to green education, empowering students to design spaces that improve quality of life. “Learning by doing” becomes both pedagogy and a path to social inclusion.

Aurora Bosia, landscape architect at LAND and skyrunner, emphasized the role of outdoor sport in that sense:

“Outdoor sport is becoming increasingly popular as it fosters community, connection, physical and mental wellbeing, and the ability to test and understand our limits. Nature becomes the witness to a race toward the sky, for which people train within urban boundaries in everyday life. Running together and experiencing public space collectively thus becomes a fundamental requirement in the mission to reconnect people with nature. The explosive growth of running clubs demonstrates how this is the new frontier of social life, one that design must respond to with people’s wellbeing in mind.”

This vision was echoed by Marco Papa, Director of the Territorial Health and Welfare Area of the Municipality of Milan, who stressed the importance of designing spaces that “sow relationships” and strengthen the city’s welfare network.

Green spaces also function as emotional infrastructures. Leonardo Capitanio, President of AIPH – International Association of Horticultural Producers, highlighted the importance of urban biodiversity, encouraging a wider range of plant species to strengthen city resilience. In urban environments where the variety of plants is increasingly limited, AIPH promotes a culture of greenery and sustainability, emphasizing that choosing the right plant shapes a more sustainable future and that cultivation is not merely a practice, but a guiding principle for life.

Closing the discussion, Andreas Kipar advocated for a Nature-based economy that aligns with and moves beyond the international frameworks, from the UN to the European Green Deal.

“Ten years of Myplant & Garden and more than fifteen years of work by Green City Italia reveal enormous potential: each of us can help build the city of the future. The planet cannot be saved unless cities are saved. A Nature-Positive Olympic legacy calls for new formats that integrate not only technical expertise, but also culture. Milan is undergoing a genuine transformation: from an inward-looking city to a polycentric metropolis that is open and generous toward its surrounding territory. The starting point must be Nature itself. By broadening our perspective, we can reconnect the city with the mountains and move beyond boundaries through a shared platform that brings together social connection, sport, and wellbeing in the name of Nature.”