1. Introduction

How can we regenerate a suburban space in progressive decline through agricultural activities and those related to food production and consumption?

With this question as a premise, and using the urban edge of the Tuscan city of Prato as a case study, a large group of students and professors from the University of Granada, the Polytechnic University of Madrid, the University of Florence, and the Autonomous University of Lisbon worked intensively for a week in the FoodCity Prato/Florence workshop in February 2024. This workshop was part of the research activities of the R&D&I project PID2020-115039GB-I00 (Food and City, from the Domestic to the Public Space. Elements for a History, Arguments for the Contemporary Project, FoodCity).

The thematic focus of the workshop was the study and design exploration of an agro-urban context with the aim of proposing its regeneration. This was oriented towards the recovery of uses and activities of peri-urban agriculture as a means for the production of local food, as well as other ecosystem services and the restoration of communal social relationships.

The study area was the peri-urban territory of San Giusto, south of the city of Prato. This is a multifunctional space where traditional agricultural uses combine in its central zone with historical constructions, such as the medieval church of San Giusto in Piazzanese. This territory has been progressively delimited by residential constructions (Villaggio Gescal, initially known as Quartiere Ina Casa San Giusto, a project coordinated by Ludovico Quaroni), as well as recent commercial spaces and the southern edge of the Prato textile industrial complex.

The seminar offered students the possibility to develope an analytical and design activity in an agro-urban context within the municipality of Prato. In addition to sessions of theoretical discussion and project development, the work also included activities in the study context, involving data collection and interaction with local actors. From the perspective of the «urban bioregion,» the ultimate goal of the work was to collaboratively create proposals that identify strategies and lines of work for the requalification of the work area and the improvement of synergies between urban and rural elements.

Presented below is a selection of the work produced by the various participating teams.

1. Feeding Prato

Project by Hugo Álamo (UPM), Daniel de Arcos (UPM), Noelia Ibarra (UPM), María Garrido (UGR), Nuria Martín (UGR), Jerónimo Olvera (UGR), Naina Pandey (UniFi) 

The landscape of Prato, in relation to food, is composed of different elements that complement the city’s character, its gastronomy, and, therefore, its culture. It represents the creation of a distinct identity rooted in the land, agricultural labor, and the society that shapes it.

This process is defined as a cycle of various phases that unfold, giving rise to a way of life and development that characterizes the interpersonal relationships of the population and the city’s productive landscape.

Based on the Foodscapes model [Spanish Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2023], this cycle is classified into five stages: foundation, production, distribution, consumption, and digestion, which narrate how the city consumes the food it produces, digests it, and returns it to the beginning of the cycle.

Foundation refers to the land, a living organism from which raw materials emerge—elements that are later harvested during the production phase and distributed across much of the country. Prato is shaped by a contrast between agricultural and industrial landscapes, where a significant portion of Italy’s produce is cultivated, packaged, and distributed both nationally and internationally thanks to its transportation network, reaching street markets.

Food is consumed within a cultural framework, its preparation deeply rooted in history and identity—Italy summarized in a combination of hand-crafted elements. A particularly noteworthy aspect is the coexistence of the Chinese and Italian communities, where food serves as a link between both cultures. The same landscape produces ingredients that materialize into two distinct culinary traditions.

Finally, digestion is the phase in which waste is classified—some of it returned to the soil, enriching it with minerals, while other materials are repurposed, reintegrating into the cycle.