Will Detroit get back to its agrarian roots? It's time to explore the idea, see what we come up with.
Excerpt:
In its early years, under the French, Detroit was, in fact a
collection of “ribbon farms,” along the riverfront, only 2-4 acres wide
but running back as deep as 80 acres. This layout was practical for the
18th Century in the New World, because it gave residents neighbors
within walking distance plus access to water and to the river, which
was at the time the major avenue for transportation.
It wouldn’t work today, of course, because Cobo Hall and downtown and other things are in the way.
But
with Mayor Dave Bing exploring the idea of clearing sparsely populated
stretches of the city and consolidating residential areas, maybe it’s
time to start thinking about what kinds of farms would work best in a
new, agrarian Motor City.
(Oops, that name might have to go. Maybe Detroit can become "Crop City.")
Read the entire article
here.
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