Ania Balducci, Horticultural Therapist
Ennio Nonni, INU – URBIT
Healing Green offers a snapshot of the role of greenery as a source of relief or therapy for the ailments affecting both people and cities. Broadening the perspective, particularly towards the health dimension, which may at first appear niche, means opening up to a different world—one in which even a small green space can exemplify some of the major challenges of our time: promoting health and psychophysical well-being, supporting access to high-quality local food, fostering healthy nutrition that does not deplete resources, and identifying anonymous or neglected spaces in order to restore dignity, beauty and well-being to many places.
But where should we begin in order to achieve that balance between the built and natural environments through the visible presence of greenery? A challenge of this entity, before becoming a collective one, must begin at the individual level: with each person’s awareness and responsibility, ultimately leading to the care of our common home.
Greenery, in its many forms, thus takes on a therapeutic role.
Urbanpromo has pioneered these issues through a series of conferences that have marked important turning points:
- 2019 – Greenery as a Driver of Urban Regeneration
- 2019 – Greenery in the City: Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change
- 2020 – Healing Green: Inner Space and the City
- 2021 – Horticultural Therapy: Beyond Food
- 2023 – Therapeutic Gardens
- 2023 – Trees and the City
PROGRAMME
9:30 Opening
Introduction and moderation
Ania Balducci, Horticultural Therapist
Speakers
“Therapeutic Gardens: State of the Art”
Giulio Senes, University of Milan
“Therapeutic Gardens in Healthcare Settings”
Roberto Bacchilega, Landscape Architect
Mario Tubertini, Montecatone Rehabilitation Institute
“Forests and Human Health”
Federica Zabini, CNR – National Research Council of Italy, Florence
“Healing Green Spaces: From Medieval Kitchen Gardens to Modern Hospitals”
Giancarlo Landini, President of the Santa Maria Nuova Foundation ETS
“Therapeutic Green Spaces: A Healthcare Resource for Older Adults”
Enrico Benvenuti, Geriatrician
“The Contribution of Green Spaces to the Rehabilitation of Autism Spectrum Disorders”
Cinzia Pieraccini, Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatrist
“Designing Wellbeing: Garden Design for Health and Care”
Monica Botta, Architect
Conclusion remarks
Ennio Nonni, Architect
13:30 Closing of the proceedings
Italiano
Contributions