Especially in suburban areas, the ones collecting the majority of impulses from city urbanization, agricultural multi-functionality can contribute to the keeping of open spaces and to the construction of a new coexistence between city and countryside. To do this it’s important to introduce "active policies" with the aim of giving unity to the multifunctional practices initiated by agriculturists: a challenge for the South Milan Agricultural Park, where the defense of land is still mainly linked to the culture of conservation.
Keywords: Multi-functionality, agriculture, peri-urban areas, south Milan, agricultural park, conservation policies