The Untapped Potential for Urban Agriculture in Detroit
Photography by Liz Patek, Flickr/CC
Less than one percent of suitable land is currently used for urban gardening in the city.
By Shea Swenson
Modern Farmer
Apr 8, 2022
Excerpt:
Detroit is home to nearly 1,400 community gardens and farms, which have helped provide fresh produce for residents in one of the most impoverished cities in the nation. But are they all planted in the right places? As a new study shows, there’s still plenty of untapped potential for urban agriculture in the city.
According to the study, published in the urban policy and planning journal Cities, reinventing publicly owned vacant lots and turning them into urban agricultural space would mean the city could produce a large portion of its annual fruit and vegetable consumption. Detroit could meet 75 percent of its vegetable demand and 40 percent of its fruit demand by utilizing the vacant lots for growing produce, the new research found. Despite this potential, the University of Michigan-led study found that less than one percent of that land is currently used for urban gardening.
For the study, researchers focused on Detroit’s Lower Eastside—a 15-mile radius that accounts for about 10 percent of Detroit’s overall land. It is also the area with the highest vacancy levels in the city. The region borders the Detroit River and includes the Indian Village, Jefferson Chalmers and East Village neighborhoods. The large majority of residents in the area, approximately 95 percent, are minorities.
