Disgraceful Rider

According to an article in the Observer this Sunday, there is quite an experiment going on in Detroit to radically reinvent the city. Decimated by the loss of the old industries, great swathes of the city lie abandoned. Started by a mix of private citizens and others there has been a move to cultivate derelict ex housing plots etc., This has proved to be really successful with more and more people getting on board and the crops are providing much needed food for the many very poor people in their local neighbourhood. One chap is trying to farm commercially by buying up as much as he can in a specific area and basing his operation on an abandoned factory – anyone who is still living in the area and who wants to remain there will just be worked around. The land is not contaminated as such as it was simply built over having previously been cultivated or wild land.  The city authorities are working on a plan to encourage residents to move into certain areas to consolidate the population remaining and thus release more land to be returned to farmland.  What a great idea … it seems many other similarly semi-derelict cities in the USA are studying this very closely. Putting people power at the heart of regeneration and redesigning their cities.  Of course this won’t be the whole answer to bring jobs and prosperity but this sort of grass roots co-operation surely will lead to a gentler, greener, more caring lifestyle. A similar thing has been done in New York where an old abandoned elevated railtrack has been transformed into an urban park – just the width of the old railtrack – what a stunning idea. You saw the future here