Farming in Detroit becoming a reality?
I came across an interesting article thanks to a post a www.urbanflint.com about a possible $30 million farm being created on Detroit's East Side by John Hantz. Looks like a pretty good idea to me, what does everyone else think?
http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/29/news...azines_fortune
Retail is a missing link to revitalized neighborhoods
I don't have a problem with this plan. I think it is foolish to oppose it, especialy foolish of people working on gardens to oppose it. They should be glad that serious investment is being poured into urban agriculture, that dozens of blocks will be put back to use. That new jobs are being created. I doubt this is a "corporate takeover"... Hantz isn't taking over any existing farms. He is just adding much more production to the mix, and I don't think there is any lack of demand. 3/4 of Detroiters still leave the city weekly to go to the suburbs. What do they go there for? Meijer, Kroger, etc.
I do have trouble with selling the food in suburban markets. I think the food should be sold at existing markets in Detroit as well as liqour/corner stores. All corner stores need to do is make their shelves higher, and add the produce. Make it so they don't even have to manage it. The managing of the produce could be handled by the distributer. What we really need is Detroit's 900,000 residents [[maybe less) buying from their neighborhood markets, and not driving to the suburbs for any neccesities.
There is so much untapped demand for groceries in Detroit, as well as retail. Look at Downtown and midtown-- what is missing? There is everything, entertainment, restaurants, theatres, museums, culture... but not retail, not grocery. Why is that? Why is retail allergic to Detroit? We have to reverse this trend. Could corner liqour stores be transformed into corner grocery stores? Could these stores be anchors to neighborhood retail centers?