I was watching some television show about Detroit not long ago and the state of the city saddened me. What was once the bustling, busy Motor City, home to Motown and a thriving auto industry, has now become a ghost town in many areas. It is estimated that there are about 33,000 vacant homes in Detroit, with many city blocks being totally abandoned. Overall, there is approximately 25,000 vacant acres in Detroit. City officials are facing a daunting task – how to revive this once lively city.
Detroit seems the perfect place for urban agriculture. After all, there are cheap, empty lots which the city doesn’t know what to do with and there are people who need jobs. So the city planners are working on official rules for urban farming in the city.
Michael Score is the president of Hantz Farms, a Detroit-based urban farm company that wants to green up Detroit – literally. Urban farms would provide jobs, fresh produce for the region, a better, cleaner environment, tourism, and more efficient city resources. This isn’t the first time urban farming has come to Detroit. In the early 20th century, farming was big, that is until the auto industry moved in.
Hantz Farms is asking the city for use of 40 acres of the state fairgrounds to create a demonstration farm to show people what can be done before expanding to other sections of the city. Hantz Farms has promised to invest $30 million into the program, but some are skeptical.
Frank Donner of the Birdtown Community Garden in Cass Corridor fears that bringing in urban farming on a larger scale will cause it to lose its place in the community. “What’s making urban agriculture interesting and sustainable is the small scale,” Donner said. The Birdtown garden was built where an apartment burned down almost 15 years ago.
However, Self-Help Addiction Rehabilitation, Inc. would like to create RecoveryPark, a $220 million dollar urban farming project in four Detroit neighborhoods that are struggling. In addition to the farms, the organization also plans to build housing and parks.
Hopefully, these urban farms will work to restore Detroit and serve as an inspiration to other struggling cities.