“Cities and Natural Capital: best practices in urban sustainability”

Giulia Capotorti, La Sapienza University of Rome: “Biodiversity and ecosystems are ourlife insurance. Bringing nature back to the city is the primary goal for sustainability on a global level”

Milan, 18 September, 2025 – Today, Parco Nord Milano played host to the latest event of the third year of the Forestami Academy, the educational program dedicated to exploring the value of urban greenery created by Forestami and the Prada Group and coordinated by Maria Chiara Pastore, Scientific Director of Forestami and Associate Professor at the Politecnico University in Milan.

The subject, “Cities and Natural Capital: best practices in urban sustainability”, was explored during the event by Giulia Capotorti, Associate Professor of Applied and Environmental Botany at the Sapienza University of Rome, who placed particular emphasis on the urgency of bringing nature into a central focus in city life.

“Biodiversity and ecosystems represent our natural capital: without these we cannot survive or thrive. They are, for all intents and purposes, our life insurance”, highlighted Giulia Capotorti.
“Re-establishing nature in the city is not a mere consideration, but a primary goal for sustainability on a global level.”

By “natural capital” we mean the entirety of the resources and services that biodiversity and ecosystems supply, and that sustain human life, society and the economy. It is not just forests and countryside, but also green spaces in cities, like parks, peri-urban woods and ecological corridors, that all play a crucial role in mitigating the effects of climate change, improving air quality and benefiting the physiological and psychological health of citizens.

The event offered a practical glimpse into the best practices in Italy for the protection and re-establishment of urban ecosystems, those based on sound scientific knowledge but that also require targeted investment, public governance and the active participation of the city’s inhabitants.

“Cities, in fact,” Capotorti reminded, “present similar environmental problems and can share solutions, but each has its own historical-cultural and even environmental specificity, so must also be considered individually. The ambitious European goal of re-establishing the natural environment requires a strong combined commitment from the public and private sectors, including making spaces and lands available for re-wilding projects. If we do not invest in cities’ natural capital, we risk a progressive deterioration of living conditions for citizens, even to the point of making the urban systems incapable of sustaining biodiversity and socioeconomic equilibrium. Nature-based solutions are more resilient, efficient and long-lasting compared to exclusively technological ones.”

The day ended with a guided tour of Parco Nord Milano by expert agronomists, identifying and getting to know woods of different ages, and seeing their evolution in a peri-urban context.

With this event, Forestami Academy confirms its role as a platform for the dissemination and discussion of scientific knowledge to help citizens, institutions and businesses reach a shared vision of greener, healthier and more sustainable cities.

Forestami was born from an initiative by architect Stefano Boeri, based on research conducted by the Politecnico di Milano, supported by Fondazione Falck and FS Sistemi Urbani, on the potential and benefits of urban forestry in the metropolitan area of Milan. It later evolved into a project promoted by the Municipality of Milan, the Metropolitan City of Milan, the Lombardy Region, Parco Nord Milano, Parco Agricolo Sud Milano, ERSAF, Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione di Comunità Milano together with Fondazione Comunitaria Nord Milano and Fondazione Comunitaria Ticino Olona, as well as the Milanese universities Politecnico, Statale and Bicocca. The project aims to plant 3 million trees by 2030, enhance the natural capital of the urban and peri-urban fabric, help reduce air pollution and improve the quality of life in Greater Milan while also combating the effects of climate change.In April 2025, the Forestami Foundation was established, becoming the Third Sector Entity (ETS) responsible for implementing and developing the Forestami project. The new Foundation continues its work thanks to collected donations and can also develop additional projects both within the Metropolitan City of Milan and on a national scale to help improve the environment.