Relational values have emerged as a mediation point between instrumental and non-instrumental use of nature inside the Ecosystem Services (ES) and Nature Contribution to People (NCP) analytical frameworks. They are not a completely unreleased concept, but rather an implementation of the older idea of biophilia, which can be defined as the innate tendency of human beings to focus on life and life processes and which has deeply affected socio-ecosystems inter-relations. Participatory mapping has been identified as an instrument capable of turning into concrete, materially detectable, feature values otherwise ephemeral, in a first moment inside the ES framework and later inside both the paradigms mentioned. Although significant steps in empowering the recognition of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) have been done, in Italy they still struggle to be included in the urban planning strategies, policies and instruments. Furthermore, scholars underline how some of them, e.g. the transformative values related to regenerative practices, can not be assessed except through direct personal experience._x000D_
Our contribution aims to illustrate the first results of action-research studies and practices that are still in progress and are being implemented since 2020 at the eastern and south-eastern edges of Milan by an interdisciplinary research group focused on the agroecological projects. The analysis of the CES generated by the transformations noticeable at the individual, community and landscape level benefits from intense field-work, the active involvement of some of the researchers in the community dynamics and the willingness to share and co-create knowledge about socio-ecosystems. Participatory mapping has been used in combination with other instruments (e.g. surveys and semi-structured interviews) with a high awareness of power dynamics and consequently taking care of involving as many different stakeholders’ views as possible.
Alice G. Dal Borgo, Valentina Capocefalo
Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, University of Milan
ID Abstract: 584