The urban farming explosion

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140 acres in Detroit sold to grow trees


Read More: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...old-grow-trees

A divided City Council approved a controversial initiative to sell about 140 acres of vacant land for the Hantz Woodlands project Tuesday over raucous public opposition. The agreement calls for the company to buy about 1,500 city-owned plots on the east side for about $520,000 and plant at least 15,000 trees during the first two years. Representatives of the project said the company would cover costs for title work, demolition of structures and removal of trash at a cost of an additional $3.2 million. The 5-4 approval brought shouts of anger from the crowd spilling out of council chambers into the hallway.

Some complained the city "gave the east side away." "This is disrespectful to the community," said longtime activist Tyrone Travis. "We're organized, we're in all 27 ZIP codes. We're going to hit the streets." Council President Charles Pugh and members Gary Brown, Saunteel Jenkins, Ken Cockrel Jr. and James Tate voted for the agreement. JoAnn Watson called it a "land grab" after voting no. Kwame Kenyatta voted "mercy no." Andre Spivey and Brenda Jones also were opposed.

John Hantz is a Detroit resident and financial services business owner who has negotiated with the city about his plan for about four years. The trees would eventually be used for commercial purposes but not until an urban agriculture ordinance is passed, the organization said. Hantz said in a statement Tuesday that he was "greatly pleased" by the vote. "We have been working with the City of Detroit for more than four years, meeting with city residents, negotiating with department representatives, the City Planning Commission, the administration and City Council members to reach an agreement that would allow us to move forward with our proposal and we are excited to begin developing Hantz Woodlands," he said. Foes have questioned the sale price, accused Hantz of getting special treatment and questioned the wisdom of allowing one firm to own so much land. Mayor Dave Bing said the project is in line with his vision of transforming vacant and underutilized parcels.

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Rooftop Gardens Pop Up in Beijing and Hong Kong

Read More: http://www.theatlantic.com/video/arc...oftops/266814/

Urban farming reaches new heights in the latest video from The Perennial Plate, a web series about sustainable food. This episode introduces Osbert Lam at City Farm in Hong Kong and Guichun Zhang in Beijing, who have created leafy green escapes among the high rises of their respective cities.

Beijing has over 90 million square meters of empty rooftops, Zhang says, and Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine, creators of the series, say urban gardening has become "a burgeoning movement" in China. The New York Times attributes the trend in Hong Kong in part to a desire for organic produce and a distrust of farming methods in mainland China. The Perennial Plate's video seems to suggest that above all, gardening is just a pleasure; Zhang takes visible delight in his vegetable patch and Lam says, "it's relaxing hobby, growing something. It's like a tranquilizer for city people."

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