Milan embraces the Doughnut: tackling inequality with the Doughnut

We are pleased to share the outcomes of the inspiring event "Tackling Inequality with the Doughnut," held on 18 September 2025 in Milan. Hosted at Triennale Milano as part of the official programme of Inequalities – the 24th international exhibition, this event marked a pivotal moment for discussing the application of the Doughnut Economics model in the Italian urban context.

The event featured institutional figures such as Elena Grandi (Councillor for Environmental Policies, City of Milan) and Claudia Sorlini (Vice President of Fondazione Cariplo), highlighting the importance of an integrated cross-sectoral approach.

From Theory to Practice: The Workshop

The day began with an intensive workshop titled "Doughnut Economics: from Theory to Operational Tools." It aimed to explore the purpose and practical application of the Doughnut as a model to integrate social and environmental policies. The three-hour morning session was facilitated by ABCittà. 

The Doughnut as a compass for 21st-century cities

The afternoon opened with a public presentation of the workshop findings, followed by the first international panel where Doughnut Economics was introduced as a "Compass for 21st-century cities."

Leonora Grcheva, Cities and Regions Lead at the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL), explained that for a city, aiming for the Doughnut means defining a new long-term vision of progress focused on meeting the needs of all people within the planet’s ecological limits. This vision translates into the Four Lenses (Local Social, Local Ecological, Global Ecological, Global Social), which allow for analysing how a city can thrive locally while respecting global wellbeing and planetary health. Grcheva celebrated the growing community of practice, which now includes over 50 local governments worldwide (from Glasgow to Nanaimo, Grenoble to Mexico City) using the model for diagnosis, monitoring, strategy, and impact evaluation.

The panel featured valuable practical insights:

• Nathalie Lemeur shared Grenoble’s experience, which launched the Grenoble 2040 approach in 2022 to create an ecologically safe and socially just city by 2040. Grenoble uses an environmental and social analysis grid as an evaluation and decision-making tool for municipal projects, assigning scores from -3 to +3.
• Prof. Jaime L. Toney described how Glasgow has been using Doughnut Economics in partnership with the University since 2019, especially at that time in preparation for COP 26. They developed a "portrait" of Glasgow, defining 44 dimensions embodying a shared vision of what prosperity means for the city, including the eradication of food poverty.
• Ben Geselbracht recounted Nanaimo’s adoption of the Doughnut Economics framework for its ten-year community planning. Facing ecological overshoot and social inequalities (e.g., a high risk of homelessness), Nanaimo has embraced the Doughnut as a cohesive vision for all city initiatives.

The dialogue on inequality factors in Milan

The second panel, conducted in Italian, focused on inequality factors specific to cities and territories. It emerged that, although Milan does not yet have an office explicitly dedicated to the Doughnut — as some cities do, like Grenoble — many organisations already operate in ways fully aligned with the Doughnut Economics model, fostering networks and multi-stakeholder collaborations.

Milanese contributions highlighted regenerative and distributive approaches in key sectors:

• Teresa Materia (Food Policy Area, City of Milan) presented Milan’s Food Aid Hub network, created to tackle food poverty and security. The system relies on a multi-stakeholder partnership (public, private, third sector) and a structured logistics model (developed with Politecnico di Milano) for recovering and redistributing edible surplus (including fresh products, thanks to cold chain logistics). In 2024, the network recovered and redistributed 795 tonnes of food and won the Earthshot Prize in 2021, enabling expansion from four to eight hubs.
• Andrea Vecci (REDO Sgr, Benefit Corporation) offered a private sector perspective on affordable housing and urban regeneration. REDO, as a Benefit Corporation, is legally mandated to pursue common good objectives (including affordability, community wellbeing and climate neutrality) alongside profit. REDO monitors housing affordability using KPIs to ensure rents remain within one-third of income. The company seeks to create "shared value" by adopting decarbonisation, sustainable mobility, and circular housing solutions.
• Chiara Nogarotto (Lombardini 22, Benefit Corporation since 2024) described the evolution of their architectural and engineering firm towards a multidisciplinary, human-centred design approach that puts people and community at the core. The company applies the Doughnut’s Four Lenses to projects such as Casa €10, an accessible and sustainable housing scheme aiming to shift the perception of housing from a market commodity to a right, and Sotto Casa, a community investing and co-design initiative for urban area regeneration (e.g., Baden Powell park).

Kate Raworth’s vision and the role of culture

Kate Raworth, author of the Doughnut Economics model, closed the event by emphasising the need to link environmental integrity and social justice for political effectiveness. She highlighted that setting environmental boundaries inevitably raises issues of distribution.

Raworth also noted that a diverse global community, including schools, universities, and sector organizations, has widely adopted Doughnut Economics. A key attribute of the model is its scalability and flexibility, operating effectively at the level of a building, street, city, region, or nation, providing a framework to ask better questions and find local solutions.

The dialogue between Kate Raworth and Stefano Boeri, President of Triennale Milano, addressed the crucial role of cultural institutions in triggering paradigm shifts. Boeri reiterated the need for holistic visions in public policies and the challenges of integrating diverse sectors. Raworth concluded that culture and creativity are essential to break free from outdated metaphors (like infinite growth) and embrace a vision of "thriving in dynamic balance." She encouraged attendees to "act as if" change is already happening and to use creativity to make the transition joyful and engaging.

The event confirmed that Milan and its organisations are moving forward, demonstrating that, even in the absence of an explicit political mandate "for the Doughnut," efforts towards regenerative and distributive practices are already underway, offering valuable practical evidence that can inspire other cities.


Event organised by MGF APS in partnership with Edizioni Ambiente and ABCittà