farming inside Detroit city

[ensho]

over at the Black Commentator site - http://www.blackcommentator.com/index.html

they have an article suggesting that in the places where the city intends to demolish vacant homes they should farm the land.

you can read the first paragraphs of the article but have to subscribe to read the whole thing.

This sounds like a very good idea.

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. Would Monsanto allow it?

[ensho]

2. only if the city used their criminal seeds

and life killing pesticides and fertilizers


Detroit farming should be organic

[metapunditedgy]

3. toxins in the soil? Is it safe to farm in "reclaimed" urban areas?

And wasn't it just a few years (ok, decades now) ago that the "last farm inside Detroit" boundaries was sold to build something over it?

[ensho]

5. I thought of that too but this land is where houses are

with private front and back yards.

in case you have never been to Detroit - it is a city of street after street after street of small to midsize houses.

don't think the land would be that toxic.

[metapunditedgy]

7. Lived in Detroit as a teenager. There's so much pollution around the area, as I recall.

Not sure private homes are particularly toxin-free, too. People dumping motor oil and who knows what in their back yards. I don't know if building materials need to be carefully cleaned, as well.

I can see how this would not have a very big effect, though. Just curious if anyone knows the numbers.

[Gaedel]

17. I grew up in Detroit

"People dumping motor oil and who knows what in their back yards."

They used to pour it into the storm sewer catch basins on the street.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. Lead paint and other pollutants in the soil would need to be addressed

The toxins in most cases can be mitigated at a cost.

[etherealtruth]

11. Unfortunately in the city there are often multiple generations of ...

.... development. One can frequently see old "filling stations" or "dry cleaners" situated in the middle of residential neighborhoods (among other commercial operations that had a significant potentiaL to impact the properties). If you look at old Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps you will see an amazing diversity of occupants (residential and commercial) within almost any city block.

Add to this many of the residences and commercial structures were heated by fuel oil at one time (some of which was stored in underground storage tanks. Detroit does have an advantage over some other urban areas ... it is situated on clay which makes the migration of contaminants a lot less likely .... but, not unheard of.

Couple this with Detroit's long industrial history (most of which occurred prior to any meaningful regulation of hazardous wastes, heavy metals or petroleum products) .... I can envision potential (and possibly serious problems).

Here's a quick blurb about phyto uptake of heavy metals present in urban soils: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1764924/

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Raised beds, or even better taller structures that could accomodate more square feet of

growing space could be used. But the latter choice would obviously require a lot more money.

[conscious evolution]

16. No till farming would be best

By mimicing nature and creating new soil on top of the old soil a lot of the toxins present can be bypassed.

[dembotoz]

4. I hate seeing housing stock demolished

we have folks losing homes
being evicted
folks being priced out of neighborhoods

urban homesteading???

You got all these improved lots with
sewer, water and electric all availble
and we are going to dump all that and turn it into farm land
while we urban sprawl around our cities and turn farm land into improved lots.

Makes no fucking sence at all.

Habitat for hummanity on a city wide basis????
Extreme Home makeove staying in detroit or new orleans? for years at a time?

[ensho]

6. since industry left the city, more and more people were forced to

move away. the amount of empty houses is HUGE.

[metapunditedgy]

8. Lots of those abandoned homes are bad for the neighborhoods, too.

Crack houses, etc. You don't want an abandoned home on your block, and they're everywhere.

[Takket]

9. I live in the Detroit area...

And I can tell you most of these homes are unlivable. Falling apart, unsafe, or just burned out alltogether. The plan to decrease the size of the city is really the only way to go. It will reduce the burden on the police, fire, school, etc... and once the neighrborhoods are consolidated and the blight removed, comemrce will once again have a chance to flourish and perhaps one day even expand back out into the areas that are deserted today.

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. Appraiser familiar with Detroit here...

Most of the electrical on these homes is unsafe and outdated, if functioning at all. Most of the homes have no contributory value, and refurbing these houses sometimes costs much more than just demolishing them and starting fresh.

[Subdivisions]

13. Detroit will find new life as the model for re-localization in the face

of declining world oil production. Detroit will teach us how to live in a world with less oil. AFAIAC, we could not be in better hands as what Detroit learns and teaches us will lead us all into a successful transition.

[ensho]

15. I like your thinking - yes let us keep an eye on Detroit's future

nt

[Gaedel]

18. Or

The region could concentrate around a center other than the city proper. Detroit itself was urban sprawl.

[Motown_Johnny]

19. I live in Detroit and there are already some small urban farms up and running

I know a couple people who have started vegetable gardens in their backyards also. I am considering some tomato plants this year since the freeze in Florida has sent the price through the roof and since vine ripe tomatoes are Soooo very good. Since FLOTUS started her garden last year it became more popular rather quickly.


I know one church in my neighborhood has a small plot going and there is another one on Jefferson near downtown (I don't remember exactly where).


It has already caught on and I would not be surprised at all if some of the lots that become vacant due to the removal of these abandoned homes become vegetable gardens.

[ensho]

20. nice - more power to the gardeners of Detroit

nt