“Learning from…” at Myplant&Garden

The event Learning from… marked the first milestone in the celebrations for the 15th anniversary of Green City Italia, offering an opportunity to reflect on past achievements and future goals.

Elena Grandi, Councillor for Environment and Green Spaces of the City of Milan, opened the event by emphasizing the need to rethink climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. She explained that the municipality is working on joint projects and developing a roadmap to facilitate public-private collaboration. One of the most pressing issues is soil permeability, which is becoming increasingly crucial in response to extreme weather events such as floods and heavy rainfall. The solution lies in breaking up asphalt, planting trees, and using permeable materials to improve biodiversity and enhance urban resilience.

 

Elena Grandi, Councillor for Environment and Green Spaces of the City of Milan, introducing the event

A key strategy in addressing climate challenges is learning from others by sharing experiences and best practices across different regions: Andreas Kipar highlighted the importance of global connections in driving change, recalling how past initiatives, from the first Green City Forum in 2010 to Expo 2015, have always been based on the idea of making cities greener through knowledge exchange. He stressed that this is not about static interventions but a dynamic process that adapts to the specific needs of each territory.

 

Andreas Kipar highlighting the importance of green connections as President of Green City Italia

In many European cities, such as Vienna, Berlin, Zurich, and Basel, citizens are actively planting trees in their neighborhoods, demonstrating how even small actions can have a meaningful impact. The Let’s Break It Up! initiative encourages people to get involved in giving more space to nature, recognizing urban soil as a valuable resource for the future. In this direction, a significant step has been taken with the Letter of Intent signed by the City of Milan and Green City Italia, committing to making Milan a Nature-Positive City—a long-term effort to enhance biodiversity and integrate green infrastructure into urban planning.

On a larger scale, Riyadh is undergoing a major urban greening transformation. Hussain Al-Hazzani, Consultant for The Royal Commission for Riyadh City, introduced the ambitious Green Riyadh program, which aims to plant 7.5 million trees and increase the city’s green coverage from 1.5% to 9%. He explained that this will be achieved by developing city parks, green roads, and rehabilitating wadis. His colleague Jens Bödeker, Partner at Bödeker Landscape Architects, emphasized that the goal is to make Riyadh one of the most livable cities in the world by implementing a comprehensive urban forest strategy and strategic advisory services.

 

Hussain Al-Hazzani and Jens Bödeker speaking about Green Riyadh program and its ambitious vision

While Riyadh is working towards a greener future through large-scale afforestation, Vienna already serves as a model of urban sustainability. Michael Graef presented the Austrian capital’s innovative measures, such as the requirement for all buildings above a certain height to have green roofs, the obligation for new high-rise buildings to cover at least 20% of their facades with greenery, and strict tree protection regulations for trees with a trunk circumference of at least 40 cm. Additionally, Austria’s first climate law provides a clear and binding framework for Vienna’s path to climate neutrality by 2040.

 

Michael Graef presenting the virtous exemple of Vienna towards urban sustainability

In Italy, green planning is also becoming increasingly relevant. Alessandro Beduschi, Councillor for Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forestry of the Lombardy Region, stressed the importance of viewing green spaces as an investment rather than a cost. He highlighted the economic and social value of urban agriculture projects such as community gardens, which help reconnect people with nature. Together with Giovanni Sala, he pointed to Parco Agricolo Sud in Milan as an international example of resilience and sustainability, with great potential for agrivoltaic solutions—an approach that integrates solar energy with sustainable agriculture to promote environmental protection without compromising the landscape.

 

Giovanni Sala speaking to the audience gathered on the occasion of the roundtable

Stefano Roman and Piero Simone from Montana Spa presented how our collaboration has led to impactful landscape consultancy projects in both the Middle East and Europe. Montana specializes in designing innovative water management and flood mitigation solutions, incorporating nature-based strategies (NBS) to enhance urban resilience. One of the most significant projects in this sense is Al Urubah Park in Riyadh, a flagship initiative of the Green Riyadh program.

 

Piero Simone, Andreas Kipar, Stefano Roman and Michael Graef sharing insights at the end of the event

The park functions as an off-line detention basin integrated into the city’s sewer system, using sustainable drainage solutions such as soakaway pits and bioengineered embankments to reduce flood risks while enhancing urban greenery. Another key project, Al Khuzam in Riyadh, involves hydraulic modeling and flood mitigation measures to optimize the city’s wadi network, ensuring sustainable water use and long-term ecological benefits.

The event Learning from… reaffirmed how the Green City network, originally established in Europe, is now expanding globally thanks to this nature-positive approach. The discussions will continue next June at the International Green City Forum in Milan and at Myplant&Garden Dubai in November, where experts and professionals will gather once again to exchange knowledge and shape the green cities of the future.