Thursday, August 12, 2010

Silliness

I keep running across pieces saying that urban farming can "save" Detroit. Agriculture makes up 1.3 percent of GDP for the United States, and there is a reason why it doesn't take place in cities--it is a low intensity land use. If Detroit really reverts to farming, it will only show that its economy really is gone forever.

1 comment:

Matthew said...

Depends upon what you mean by "save". Save economically, obviously not.

On the other hand, save aesthetically, maybe. Vast stretches of vacant lots, trash, collapsing buildings, and ailanthus are a lot less appealing than stretches of fruit trees and vegetables. I don't think there is much doubt that there are large parts of Detroit that would be much improved by some agricultural use, as otherwise they have no use.