**6. Results**

The existence of relations between the urban and rural components implies the idea that there is something that can be called "urban" and something else "rural". The need to distinguish between these two territory' conditions has led to various proposals and experiences. From a more purely legislative point of view [38], the policies that have variously concerned the urban–rural relationship (which can be traced back to three types of approach: formal, constraining, and programmatic) have highlighted different forms of relationship between these areas that can be summarised in three typologies: the subjugation of rural to urban space, maintenance of a clear separation between rural and urban, and creation of hybrid spaces.

However, "urban" and "rural" are not entities that exist independently of human practice and special interests: rather, the nature and character of these categories depend on how they are defined.

Of particular interest in this type of relationship is the portion of land in contact with the two areas, or rather at the border of both, where one ends and the other begins. An increasingly blurred space that is not clearly defined [2,13,39–42], which sees, on the one hand, the urban "infiltrate" and branch out into the rural, on the other hand, the rural does not completely give way to the urban, maintaining "enclaves" within the urban component. This dynamic translates into what is today, among other definitions, identified as peri-urbanization.

These borders' territories are crossed by flows of people and materials [1], economically, politically, socially, and physically through issues such as housing, employment, education, transport, tourism, and resource use. In some cases, these flows are predominantly unidirectional (as in the case of cultural activities or waste flows), while in other cases there are important flows with a bidirectional character (as in the case of recreation and tourism), connecting and mixing urban and rural areas, farmers and citizens, and generating multifunctional activities.

As highlighted by the study cases shown, if properly managed through the creation of agricultural parks, the peri-urban areas can become poles of attraction for urban contexts that give them new functions combining environmental regeneration with the supply of quality food products, the creation of playgrounds, and recreational spaces with training and educational activities [43]. Moreover, this governance tool allows farms to enter new markets and expand their activities, contributing to sustainable development by involving their stakeholders and communities around common targets [44].

In particular, the characterising factors of the agricultural parks analyzed, in terms of enhancing the value of peri-urban open spaces in touristic terms, are as follows:

