July 11, 2008
From Motown to Growtown
Urban decay and rising food costs give spark to a new neighborhood assistance initiative: urban farming.
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That is great. But who owns the land the gardens are on? Is it owned by the city? Do they need to obtain permission from the owners of the derelict properties? I love the idea, and I love that it serves a purpose for people sentenced to community service too. There's just so much good about it - being freely available to all, promoting healthy food options in low socioeconomic areas where it's easier and sometimes cheaper to buy junk food, teaching kids where food really comes from, caring for the environment, putting unused land to use. Love it.
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My department does a lot with urban gardening for kids. We've helped start a bunch of rooftop gardens in NYC schools. We recently visited one site where the kids also keep chickens to keep down garden pests, and they eat the eggs. (That particular one's not on a rooftop, obviously.)
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Oh, and BTW, Nick, this Detroit story is the perfect antidote to the depressing one in the "Eagle and Dragon" article!
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I was wondering about the ownership question, too, tracicle. But from what I've read about Detroit, there are vast tracts of abandoned land and buildings and property values are so low (this is the city of the "cheaper than a car" houses fame) that there's no particular incentive for the owner to make an effort to improve it. Can land be considered abandonware?
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I drove through downtown detroit today, on the way to a baseball game. There is exactly a three square block area that is functional, the rest of the town is in ruins... One of the most depressing rides I've done in a long time..