Greenways e corridoi verdi come strumento di connessione città-campagna: il caso dell'est di Milano

The term greenways indicates “a system of interconnected linear territories that are protected, managed and developed so as to obtain ecological, recreational, historical and cultural benefits”, or a “system of routes dedicated to non-motorized traffic connecting people with landscape resources and the centres of life both in the urban areas and in the countryside” (Toccolini et al, 2004). There are therefore greenways with different roles and values: greenways with recreational value, historical-cultural valances or with an ecological valance. At the municipal scale the urban greenways network can help to reshape the city, making it more liveable. In the 2007 (Senes, 2007) the authors defined an urban greenway planning methodology, for the city of Milan. The plan for Milan provides a “principal” greenways network about 275 km long. Most of the network is based on existing or available corridors, although in many cases interventions are needed for improvement or construction. Part of this network is included in the system proposed by the municipality of Milan, called “green rays”. In the next phase of the study the possibility of extending the urban network to ensure the connection between town and country was analyzed. This network includes trails used by people for daily movements and green areas useful to create an ecological network. In sub-urban area of Milan, open spaces are limited and the continuity required could be found only along major roads that could to be redesigned according to the criteria of "road ecology".