The role of horticulture and urban greening for improving environmental quality and well-being in the urbanized areas

The Environmental horticulture and urban greening research group works on:

• biological and physical concepts and horticultural principles of plant production
• design and management of plants and plant ecosystems in landscape settings
• sociological aspects of plant/people interactions in the urban environment.

The group focuses on how plants improve the environment and the quality of our lives, considering the use of plants to revegetate and restore disturbed landscapes, control erosion and reduce energy and water consumption. The ornamental use of plants to improve the aesthetic quality of urban and rural landscapes, recreational areas, interiorscapes and commercial sites is an important aspect of this major.

Urban agriculture and community gardening, urban greening, participatory processes, assessment methods are some of the topics. The study of Ecosystem services provided by urban greening and the implementation of Nature-based solutions are the last research topics.

Insights
Spin-off GROWinGREEN

• Productive Green Infrastructure for post-industrial urban regeneration (proGIreg) - H2020 Societal Challlenges 2018-2023, Coordinator Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH)
• Realizzazione di un sistema parete verde - GRE_EN_S (Green Envelope System) - riciclato e ad alto contenuto tecnologico da utilizzare come elemento di involucro in architettura progetto biennale (ottobre 2010 - ottobre 2012) finanziato da FINPIEMONTE nell'ambito del bando POLI D'INNOVAZIONE per l’edilizia sostenibile. Capofila Dipartimento DINSE, Politecnico di Torino, Responsabile scientifico unità di ricerca dipartimentale AGROSELVITER - Dott.ssa Federica Larcher
• AROMA - Le piante aromatiche tra ambiente ed attività produttive - Progetto Interreg ALCOTRA Italia-Francia 2010-2011. Capofila CRA FSO - Sanremo (IM), Responsabile scientifico dell’Unità di ricerca di Torino Prof. Marco Devecchi.

• Larcher F., Pomatto E., Battisti L., Gullino P., Devecchi M. (2021). Perceptions of Urban Green Areas during the Social Distancing Period for COVID-19 Containment in Italy. Horticulturae, 7, 55; doi:10.3390/horticulturae7030055
• Battisti L., Pomatto E., Larcher F. (2020). Assessment and Mapping Green Areas Ecosystem Services and Socio-Demographic Characteristics in Turin Neighborhoods (Italy) FORESTS 11 (1), 25; doi:10.3390/f11010025
• Battisti L., Pille L., Wachtel T., Larcher F., Säumel I. (2019). Residential Greenery: State of the Art and Health-Related Ecosystem Services and Disservices in the City of Berlin. Sustainability 11, 1815; doi:10.3390/su11061815
• Larcher F., Battisti L., Bianco L., Giordano R., Montacchini E., Serra V., Tedesco S. (2018). Sustainability of Living Wall Systems Through An Ecosystem Services Lens. In: Urban Horticulture. Sustainability for the future, Editor Dilip Nandwani, SPRINGER NATURE, 31-51. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-67017-1_2.

University of Sheffield (PhD thesis)
ISHS Landscape and Urban Horticulture group
Humbolt University Berlin