Infrastructures versus agriculture : critical challenges in Lombardy planning

In Italy 20,063 square meters of farm lands are used daily by urbanisation. In the first quarter of 2012 26 thousand farms were closed. These are the effects of land use policies that are not able to connect rural development strategies in spatial planning. The construction of new infrastructures is a good example of the problem. In Lombardy, the Brebemi will involve more than 400 farms. More than two million square meters of land will be expropriated. Without considering those which will later be dedicated to secondary roads to support and logistics. An interpretative paradigm of planning sustainability with respect to the rural system is required. The research focused on setting out proposals to provide an integration framework to support the rural system in the new sustainable planning. The Lombardy case study is presented to highlight roles and mutual conditioning between rural development and spatial planning, both large and small scale.