As anybody already knows, Detroit is a city that has been fighting for survival for almost 2 decades now. With the continuing withdrawal of the auto industry from the city, as well as a 16% unemployment rate, many people are fleeing the city and the ones who are staying are not enough to keep it functioning.
Though Detroit has long been closely associated and supported by the auto industry, the area of land on which it resides is actually quite fertile and was once agrarian country. Its close proximity to the Great Lakes and ample growing season used to make Detroit, or the land that is now considered Detroit, ideal farming land that produced an abundance of crops.
From Brown To Green
With so much cheap land now available in the city, and countless numbers of abandoned industrial sites too far gone to resurrect, a wealthy investor named John Hantz of Hantz Financial Services thinks now is the right time to get Detroit back on its feet by taking it back to its roots; literally. Hantz has already contributed $30 million of his own money to get Hantz Farms underway; the world’s largest urban farming project.
The idea is not a new one. Talk of repurposing much of Detroit back to agriculture has been talked about for decades; only now has the idea had real backing and the economic environment to make it a reality. From Hantz Farms; press release:
“Detroit could be the nation’s leading example of urban farming and become a destination for fresh, local and natural foods and become a major part of the green movement,” said Hantz, a Detroit resident. “Hantz Farms will transform this area into a viable, beautiful and sustainable area that will serve the community, increase the tax base, create jobs and greatly improve the quality of life in an area that has experienced a severe decline in population.”
Phase 1 plans utilize more than 70 acres of underutilized vacant lands and abandoned properties on Detroit’s lower east side.
Hantz Farms plans to grow natural, local, fresh and safe fruits and vegetables to help meet Michigan’s increasing demand for locally grown produce. In addition to food and trees, Hantz Farms will harvest wind energy and utilize geothermal heat and biomass fuel from recycling compost.
“Urban agriculture is an opportunity to provide an effective economic development program for the Detroit community. MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has been providing expert advice to Hantz Farms along with the MSU’s Michigan Agriculture Experiment Station and MSU Extension to develop a productive outreach and engagement program as part of the proposal,” said Jeffry D. Armstrong, Dean of the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This is a challenging and exciting opportunity.”
Heading up Hantz Farms LLC, will be Matt Allen, a Detroit resident and advocate for Hantz’s vision.
“The combination of land consolidation, blight removal, conservation of city services and the beautification of the city itself are just some of the byproducts that will come from our commitment to urban farming,” Allen said. “We’re very excited to be able to make strides in helping to make Detroit a progressive, world-class leader in providing fresh, locally grown food that’s safe and purely Detroit.”
Once the project is approved by Detroit city officials, work would begin immediately and the farm would be operating within six months.
Out of all of the ideas that have been passed around over the years to ‘prop up’ Detroit, rather than make it fundamentally economically solid, this idea really seems to make sense and could really get some traction. Let’s hope it works not only for the citizens of Detroit, but the environment as well. Fertile farmland is better than countless industrial brownfield sites.
The Good: Hundreds of desperately needed jobs for the city of Detroit. Fresh local food for one of the unhealthiest cities in America. Industrial site remediation that otherwise would not be performed. Success of the project will most likely spurn others.
The Bad: Land remediation will be difficult given the 100+ year industrial history of the area. No talk of having the farms be organic. Not everyone in the city will support the initiative.
The Bottom-Line: Out of all of the temporary fixes proposed through the years to prop up Detroit, the Hantz Farm project actually seems like the most viable and sensible approach to transforming the city back into a thriving community…without the auto industry.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:
YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:
Related Posts:
Follow us on Twitter and join us on Facebook. While you're at it, subscribe to our feed as well!
Discussion
View Comments for “Saving Detroit By Turning It Back Into Farmland”