This book explores how urbanization reshapes nature, governance, and participation through the case of the Seveso river basin, in the area of Milan. Combining Urban Political Ecology and Post-Ecologist theory, the book examines how environmental degradation and fl ood risks are managed through participatory processes that often mask deeper socio-ecological contradictions. It critically engages with EU environmental policies, questioning their capacity to foster genuine democratic involvement and ecological justice. Through in-depth fi eldwork and analysis, this book reveals the limits of sustainability politics and the contested terrain of urban nature in contemporary Europe.