Art&Dialogue on Urban Regeneration

Join the conversation on nature-based solutions for urban resilience.

Facilitated by Anna Sabadash and Tiziana Tamborrini, Gaialux

• Corrado Costa, Researcher in Agri-Food Engineering, CREA, Rome
• Maria Rita Palattella , Principal Scientist & Project Coordinator, LIFE – Climate‑Resilient Agri‑Food Systems, LIST, Luxembourg.
• Francesco Sarracino, Senior Economist & Research Unit Leader at STATEC, Luxembourg.

Art reportage by V. Ioannoni, F. Sarracino

Open to public | RSVP required ([email protected])

From Desertification to Regeneration: Rethinking Communities that Heal Through Art, Stories, Case Studies.

Through photo reportage and the testimonies from concrete case studies we will witness not only the visible signs of ecological collapse – and the often-unheard human stories behind them – but also concrete examples of urban space regeneration. These narratives reveal the potential of community engagement in shaping new regenerative solutions, particularly in addressing water scarcity, pioneering new approaches to reshaping nature and agriculture within urban spaces, and advancing water-efficient agricultural projects supported by emerging technologies.Bringing together two distant yet deeply connected case studies—from the Caribbean island of Dominica to the heart of Luxembourg—this event explores how innovation, local knowledge, and solidarity can converge to revive both ecosystems and economies.

From ecological collapse to urban revival, we will examine how regenerative economies are already taking shape through concrete practices: regenerative agriculture, community-based cooperatives, urban renewal projects, and the purposeful use of technologies like AI to restore meaning to places and support collective decision-making.

Structure & Speakers

Moderator: Representatives from Gaialux

Speakers:

Francesco Sarracino Senior Economist & Research Unit Leader at STATEC, Luxembourg

Francesco Sarracino will set the conceptual framework: urban regeneration as ecological and cultural transformation.

Corrado Costa Leading Researcher CREA) – Research Centre for Engineering and Agro-food Processing (Rome, Italy). Member of CIGR (International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering)

Corrado Costa will present recent developments by CREA in collaboration with FAO, focusing on digital tools for sustainable agriculture in Caribbean contexts

Maria Rita Palattella  Principal Scientist  & Project Coordinator, LIFE – Climate‑Resilient Agri‑Food Systems Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST)

Maria Rita Palattella will present the innovative LIFE project in Luxembourg, aimed at creating climate-resilient, water-efficient, and self-sustainable agri-food systems.

Objectives

Position complex thinking, interdisciplinarity, and creativity as essential languages of transformation—tools to unlock black boxes, bridge diverse forms of knowledge, and imagining regenerative futures for our cities and ecosystems.

Reframe urban regeneration through the lens of planetary boundaries and post-growth thinking, shifting the focus from growth to resilience and wellbeing.

Highlight case studies that showcase innovations and regenerative practices in water-efficient use in agriculture using advanced technologies while implementing circular principles, all embedded in and shaped by specific local ecological and social contexts.

Demonstrate the power of communities to co-create solutions and play an active role in driving ecological and social transitions at the local level

Anchored in the themes of SDGs 11 (and links with 6, 8, 12, 15) this dialogue will explore practical pathways toward regenerative communities.