Monday, October 12, 2009
Benefitting Detroiters
I'd like to focus on how Hantz Farms is going to benefit Detroit as well as contribute to the wellbeing of the community and its surrounding areas.
As recently as August 2007, there have been no major grocery chains available for Detroiters to shop at within the city limits. Supermarkets became less accessable, which meant access to fresh fruits and vegetables became almost extinct. And considering the fact that many Detroiters don't own cars (which is slightly ironic being that it's the Motor City, home of the Big Three and America's auto industry, blah blah blah) it is hard to make it out to the 'burbs and back with bags full of good, cheap, healthy food. Let alone safe and locally grown food.
Because of this, many people have taken to grocery shopping at their local convenience stores: CVS, gas stations, liquor stores, etc. These places generally don't provide food with enough nutrition to satisfy all 5 food groups, which means many Detroiters have slowly begun to consume more calorie-saturated and processed foods.
Hantz Farms has obviously not been the first to realize Detroit's need for fresh and readily available produce. Urban farming has already made an impressive impact on Detroit and Eastern Market is a city staple. Slowly but surely, the change is growing.
Hantz Farms is aiming to step it up a notch.
While on the outside they may appear to be simply a corporate entity started by an investment banker from the Detroit area, there is much more that begs to be communicated. From what I've read and learned about John Hantz and Matt Allen, it's that they are very committed to impacting the community in a positive way, and are interested in being involved and keeping the people involved from the moment the project goes underway. They have no intention of removing people from their homes or pushing people out of neighborhoods. The concepts they have for their farms will not impose on anyone in any way, their methods are safe and have been thoroughly researched, and they are completely invested in a successful and meaningful outcome.
After speaking with Allen personally as he took the time to answer our questions, it was apparent to me how motivated and involved he was in every aspect of Hantz Farms and the vision behind it. He spoke eloquently and precisely communicated his thoughts and planning for the project, making light-hearted jokes and speaking optimistically of the future of Detroit.
One thing that struck me the most was at one point when he described how he wishes to help create a new culture of living and tradition. Educating people on how to can food and speaking about the memories it makes when doing it as a family. Getting the community involved in harvest festivals and creating city parks.
If there was one thing Allen wished to get across to us, he explained, it was that Hantz Farms will be committed to producing local, fresh, safe produce for Detroiters. It's as simple as that. While there are many added benefits, that is what they are about, at their core. Improving the city, beautifying the landscape, and providing locals with a cheap, accessable, healthy diet.
Sources: Detroit News / NPR
As recently as August 2007, there have been no major grocery chains available for Detroiters to shop at within the city limits. Supermarkets became less accessable, which meant access to fresh fruits and vegetables became almost extinct. And considering the fact that many Detroiters don't own cars (which is slightly ironic being that it's the Motor City, home of the Big Three and America's auto industry, blah blah blah) it is hard to make it out to the 'burbs and back with bags full of good, cheap, healthy food. Let alone safe and locally grown food.
Because of this, many people have taken to grocery shopping at their local convenience stores: CVS, gas stations, liquor stores, etc. These places generally don't provide food with enough nutrition to satisfy all 5 food groups, which means many Detroiters have slowly begun to consume more calorie-saturated and processed foods.
Hantz Farms has obviously not been the first to realize Detroit's need for fresh and readily available produce. Urban farming has already made an impressive impact on Detroit and Eastern Market is a city staple. Slowly but surely, the change is growing.
Hantz Farms is aiming to step it up a notch.
While on the outside they may appear to be simply a corporate entity started by an investment banker from the Detroit area, there is much more that begs to be communicated. From what I've read and learned about John Hantz and Matt Allen, it's that they are very committed to impacting the community in a positive way, and are interested in being involved and keeping the people involved from the moment the project goes underway. They have no intention of removing people from their homes or pushing people out of neighborhoods. The concepts they have for their farms will not impose on anyone in any way, their methods are safe and have been thoroughly researched, and they are completely invested in a successful and meaningful outcome.
After speaking with Allen personally as he took the time to answer our questions, it was apparent to me how motivated and involved he was in every aspect of Hantz Farms and the vision behind it. He spoke eloquently and precisely communicated his thoughts and planning for the project, making light-hearted jokes and speaking optimistically of the future of Detroit.
One thing that struck me the most was at one point when he described how he wishes to help create a new culture of living and tradition. Educating people on how to can food and speaking about the memories it makes when doing it as a family. Getting the community involved in harvest festivals and creating city parks.
If there was one thing Allen wished to get across to us, he explained, it was that Hantz Farms will be committed to producing local, fresh, safe produce for Detroiters. It's as simple as that. While there are many added benefits, that is what they are about, at their core. Improving the city, beautifying the landscape, and providing locals with a cheap, accessable, healthy diet.
Sources: Detroit News / NPR
Field Research
Courtney and I decided to take a trip to Eastern Market on Saturday morning to see the Grown in Detroit produce stands and experience the excitement and buzz of shopping the market. Later in the day we visited the Earthworks Urban Farm which feeds into the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
While we didn't have the chance to speak with any vendors, we did enjoy the experience of shopping the market. I'd never attended before and had no idea what to expect. I ended up buying $15 in produce, breads and cheese. And Courtney purchased this massive tree-like growth of brussels sprouts.
We then made our way to the Earthworks Urban Farm to see if we could speak to anyone volunteering or working. We were lucky enough to happen upon a group of people just finishing their work. We had the chance to speak to the person in charge of the volunteers and asked her a couple of questions about the farm, as well as her knowledge about the Hantz Farms project.
What she had to say was quite disheartening, although it did make sense that she would feel the way she does. The way she put it is, what does an investment banker from Southfield know about what's best for the community? How can he help? How will he be getting the community involved in the project? She was obviously not very informed on what the project was about, but at the same time, she already had a negative viewpoint.
The Earthworks Urban Farm is vastly different than what Hantz Farms will grow to be, although there are many similarities and things to keep in mind. While Hantz will be a larger and more commercial approach to urban agriculture, they will need to maintain a friendly and unobtrusive message through their aesthetic and branding in order to win over the people who are already viewing them as a negative entity. They will need to devote themselves on informing and keeping the community involved every step of the way.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Locations.
Below are a few Urban farm location and details.
Earthworks Urban Farm
Capuchin Soup Kitchen
1264 Meldrum, Detroit, MI 48207.
earthworks@cskdetroit.org or 313-579-2100 ext 204.
Any one can volunteer during lunchtime. From 9 to 12:30.
You can also schedule tours.
“As a society, we have become dangerously disconnected from the land and the sources of food that sustain life. We have detached ourselves from the real source of wealth - a respectful and reverent relationship with the land.
In 1997, Brother Rick Samyn felt a calling to start a garden at his workplace, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. The response was overwhelming and positive. That small plot of land grew into what is our Urban Farm project today.
Earthworks Urban Farm seeks to restore our connection to the environment and community in keeping with the tradition of our spiritual patron, St. Francis. It is a working study in social justice and in knowing the origin of the food we eat. This project relies on the gracious donations of time from volunteers and materials from sponsors. Neighbors and friends of all ages, incomes and faiths join us in our work. We hope that you will visit us and see what a special project Earthworks Urban Farm has become.”
The Greening of Detroit
1418 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
The Greening of Detroit is located in downtown Detroit on the north side of Michigan Avenue, just one block east of the old Tiger Stadium.
Greening of Detroit Business Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30-5:00 EST
Phone: 313.237.8733
Fax: 313.237.8737
Email: info@greeningofdetroit.com
“The Greening of Detroit, is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit organization, established in 1989 to guide and inspire the reforestation of Detroit. Our latest strategic plan reflects commitment to a clear sense of direction that will guide the organization's development over the next five years.
A new vision was established, expanding The Greening's mission to guide and inspire others to create a 'greener' Detroit through planting and educational programs environmental leadership, advocacy, and by building community capacity.”
Detroit Agricultural Network
“The Garden Resource Program is an effort to provide hundreds of home, school and community gardens access to resources and information in order to empower Detroit residents to grow, harvest, prepare, and preserve food for their families in their backyards and neighborhoods. Participants in the program receive basic resources for their garden, including seeds and Detroit grown transplants. Participants also become part of a growing network of community, school and family gardeners and garden advocates working to promote and encourage urban agriculture and community gardening across the city. Through participation in this larger network, gardeners gain access to additional resources, technical assistance, and educational opportunities.
For a nominal fee, participants receive quality seeds and plants for their garden, subscription to the Detroit Farmer's Quarterly Newsletter and opportunities to access additional resources and participate in other valuable educational series and training workshops. In 2008, over 169 community gardens, 40 schools and 359 families received support from the Garden Resource Program. Through the program, participants received 32,320 seed packets and approximately 129,360 DETROIT GROWN plants and successfully produced thousands of pounds of food in the city.'”
Cluster Groups
“Participants of the Garden Resource Program are invited and encouraged to participate in one of 8 Garden cluster groups, which are based on geographic region within the city of Detroit, Highland Park & Hamtramck. The purpose of the cluster groups is to connect gardeners and urban farmers living and working in the same area of the city in order to provide a support network and access to additional resources. Additional resources in 2008 included tilling, soil testing, compost, wood chips, mulch, weed fabric, tool sharing, volunteers and more!”
Wed, Oct 7th, Edgeton Community Garden, 7165 Edgeton, W. of Van Dyke, S. of Davison, 5:30-7:30PM
Sat, October 3rd, Pennsylvania Sylvester Community Garden, 3856 Pennsylvania, E. of McClellan, N. of Mack 4-6PM
Wed, Sept 30th, Catherine Ferguson Academy, 2750 Selden, 5:30-7:30PM
Tuesday, Sept 29th, Conely Library, 4600 Martin, N. of Michigan, 5:30-7:30PM
Saturday, Sept 26th, Rosedale Park Baptist Church, 14161 Heyden at Kendall, w. of Evergreen, 1-3PM
Thursday, October 1st, Sherwood Heights Community Garden, 19767 Cranbrook, just W. of Wyoming, you must check in at guard station 5:30-7:30PM
Saturday, September 26th, Pilgrim Village Community Garden,15575 14th St, S. of Puritan, 10-12
If you are a resident of Detroit, Highland Park or Hamtramck and would like to join the Garden Resource Program, please contact Lindsay Turpin, Garden Resource Program Coordinator, 313-285-1249 or lindsay_detroitagriculture@yahoo.com
For all other inquiries, please contact Ashley Atkinson at 313-237-8736 or aatkinso@umich.edu
Catherine Ferguson Academy and Farm
2750 Selden St
Detroit, MI 48208-2544
(313) 596-4766
(313) 596-4773 - Fax
The AdaMah'nitoba Project
born out of UD-Mercy
Alon Weinberg
adamahnitoba@gmail.com
204-783-3559
Our Lady of the Rosary
5930 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202-3594
Office (313) 875-2719
Facsimile (313) 872-0758
Rectory (313) 875-6011
Convent (313) 875-2716
“Take the Rosary Community Garden run by Sister Joan Baustian just off Woodward Avenue. The nun operates the garden with the help of a group of neighborhood kids and provides enough fresh vegetables to feed six neighborhood families.”
Michigan State University Extension
Thomas G. Coon, Director
Agriculture Hall, Room 108
Michigan State University
East Lansing,
MI 48824-1039
Phone: 517-355-2308
Toll Free:1-888-MSUE-4MI
(1-888-678-3464)
Fax: 517-355-6473
“Since its beginning, Michigan Extension has focused on bringing knowledge-based educational programs to the people of the state to improve their lives and communities. Today, county-based staff members, in concert with on-campus faculty members, serve every county with programming focused on agriculture and natural resources; children, youth and families; and community and economic development.
Today’s problems are very complex. Solutions require the expertise of numerous disciplines and the collaboration of many partners. Operating synergistically with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and other Michigan State University units, MSU Extension extends the University’s knowledge resources to all Michigan citizens and assists them in meeting their learning needs through a variety of educational strategies, technologies and collaborative arrangements.”
These are all the locations that pertain to the Urban Farming organization.
http://www.urbanfarming.org/
Alger
Ardmore
Birney Middle School
Birwood 1
Birwood 2
Blackstone
Blight Busters Artist Village Garden
Boston
Boys and Girls Club
Bradford Academy
Broadstreet (2009)
Brush
Burt
Cascade 1
Cascade 2
Central High School
Christian Guidance
Denby Center Salvation Army
Elmherst 1
Elmherst 2
Family Victory Fellowship
Farwell Park
Fenkel and Mendota
Fox 2
Gateway
Georgia 1
Georgia 2
Hague
Helen
Hubbel (Brotherly Love)
Kettering High School
Knodell
Labelle
Levy Middle School
Linwood and Gladstone
Martin Luther King and Third
Martin Luther King and Third, #2
Marygrove College
Mendota
Michigan State Fairground
Mumford High School
Operation Get Down
Pierson
Randolph Technical Center
Seymor
Smith Housing Projects
Stoepel
Strathmore
Trinity
University Prep Academy
Washburn
West End 1
West End 2
West End 3
West End 4
Yellowstone 1
Yellowstone 2
Some 80 community gardens are part of the Detroit Garden Resource Program, run by four groups: The Greening of Detroit, the Detroit Agricultural Network, Michigan State Extension, and Earthworks Gardens at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
Then there’s the community garden at John R and Alger Street. The bucolic garden-scape sits on what used to be an abandoned lot and dumping site, says Ashley Atkinson, program director for The Greening of Detroit.
Earthworks Urban Farm
Capuchin Soup Kitchen
1264 Meldrum, Detroit, MI 48207.
earthworks@cskdetroit.org or 313-579-2100 ext 204.
Any one can volunteer during lunchtime. From 9 to 12:30.
You can also schedule tours.
“As a society, we have become dangerously disconnected from the land and the sources of food that sustain life. We have detached ourselves from the real source of wealth - a respectful and reverent relationship with the land.
In 1997, Brother Rick Samyn felt a calling to start a garden at his workplace, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. The response was overwhelming and positive. That small plot of land grew into what is our Urban Farm project today.
Earthworks Urban Farm seeks to restore our connection to the environment and community in keeping with the tradition of our spiritual patron, St. Francis. It is a working study in social justice and in knowing the origin of the food we eat. This project relies on the gracious donations of time from volunteers and materials from sponsors. Neighbors and friends of all ages, incomes and faiths join us in our work. We hope that you will visit us and see what a special project Earthworks Urban Farm has become.”
The Greening of Detroit
1418 Michigan Avenue
Detroit, MI 48216
The Greening of Detroit is located in downtown Detroit on the north side of Michigan Avenue, just one block east of the old Tiger Stadium.
Greening of Detroit Business Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30-5:00 EST
Phone: 313.237.8733
Fax: 313.237.8737
Email: info@greeningofdetroit.com
“The Greening of Detroit, is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit organization, established in 1989 to guide and inspire the reforestation of Detroit. Our latest strategic plan reflects commitment to a clear sense of direction that will guide the organization's development over the next five years.
A new vision was established, expanding The Greening's mission to guide and inspire others to create a 'greener' Detroit through planting and educational programs environmental leadership, advocacy, and by building community capacity.”
Detroit Agricultural Network
“The Garden Resource Program is an effort to provide hundreds of home, school and community gardens access to resources and information in order to empower Detroit residents to grow, harvest, prepare, and preserve food for their families in their backyards and neighborhoods. Participants in the program receive basic resources for their garden, including seeds and Detroit grown transplants. Participants also become part of a growing network of community, school and family gardeners and garden advocates working to promote and encourage urban agriculture and community gardening across the city. Through participation in this larger network, gardeners gain access to additional resources, technical assistance, and educational opportunities.
For a nominal fee, participants receive quality seeds and plants for their garden, subscription to the Detroit Farmer's Quarterly Newsletter and opportunities to access additional resources and participate in other valuable educational series and training workshops. In 2008, over 169 community gardens, 40 schools and 359 families received support from the Garden Resource Program. Through the program, participants received 32,320 seed packets and approximately 129,360 DETROIT GROWN plants and successfully produced thousands of pounds of food in the city.'”
Cluster Groups
“Participants of the Garden Resource Program are invited and encouraged to participate in one of 8 Garden cluster groups, which are based on geographic region within the city of Detroit, Highland Park & Hamtramck. The purpose of the cluster groups is to connect gardeners and urban farmers living and working in the same area of the city in order to provide a support network and access to additional resources. Additional resources in 2008 included tilling, soil testing, compost, wood chips, mulch, weed fabric, tool sharing, volunteers and more!”
Wed, Oct 7th, Edgeton Community Garden, 7165 Edgeton, W. of Van Dyke, S. of Davison, 5:30-7:30PM
Sat, October 3rd, Pennsylvania Sylvester Community Garden, 3856 Pennsylvania, E. of McClellan, N. of Mack 4-6PM
Wed, Sept 30th, Catherine Ferguson Academy, 2750 Selden, 5:30-7:30PM
Tuesday, Sept 29th, Conely Library, 4600 Martin, N. of Michigan, 5:30-7:30PM
Saturday, Sept 26th, Rosedale Park Baptist Church, 14161 Heyden at Kendall, w. of Evergreen, 1-3PM
Thursday, October 1st, Sherwood Heights Community Garden, 19767 Cranbrook, just W. of Wyoming, you must check in at guard station 5:30-7:30PM
Saturday, September 26th, Pilgrim Village Community Garden,15575 14th St, S. of Puritan, 10-12
If you are a resident of Detroit, Highland Park or Hamtramck and would like to join the Garden Resource Program, please contact Lindsay Turpin, Garden Resource Program Coordinator, 313-285-1249 or lindsay_detroitagriculture@yahoo.com
For all other inquiries, please contact Ashley Atkinson at 313-237-8736 or aatkinso@umich.edu
Catherine Ferguson Academy and Farm
2750 Selden St
Detroit, MI 48208-2544
(313) 596-4766
(313) 596-4773 - Fax
The AdaMah'nitoba Project
born out of UD-Mercy
Alon Weinberg
adamahnitoba@gmail.com
204-783-3559
Our Lady of the Rosary
5930 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202-3594
Office (313) 875-2719
Facsimile (313) 872-0758
Rectory (313) 875-6011
Convent (313) 875-2716
“Take the Rosary Community Garden run by Sister Joan Baustian just off Woodward Avenue. The nun operates the garden with the help of a group of neighborhood kids and provides enough fresh vegetables to feed six neighborhood families.”
Michigan State University Extension
Thomas G. Coon, Director
Agriculture Hall, Room 108
Michigan State University
East Lansing,
MI 48824-1039
Phone: 517-355-2308
Toll Free:1-888-MSUE-4MI
(1-888-678-3464)
Fax: 517-355-6473
“Since its beginning, Michigan Extension has focused on bringing knowledge-based educational programs to the people of the state to improve their lives and communities. Today, county-based staff members, in concert with on-campus faculty members, serve every county with programming focused on agriculture and natural resources; children, youth and families; and community and economic development.
Today’s problems are very complex. Solutions require the expertise of numerous disciplines and the collaboration of many partners. Operating synergistically with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and other Michigan State University units, MSU Extension extends the University’s knowledge resources to all Michigan citizens and assists them in meeting their learning needs through a variety of educational strategies, technologies and collaborative arrangements.”
These are all the locations that pertain to the Urban Farming organization.
http://www.urbanfarming.org/
Alger
Ardmore
Birney Middle School
Birwood 1
Birwood 2
Blackstone
Blight Busters Artist Village Garden
Boston
Boys and Girls Club
Bradford Academy
Broadstreet (2009)
Brush
Burt
Cascade 1
Cascade 2
Central High School
Christian Guidance
Denby Center Salvation Army
Elmherst 1
Elmherst 2
Family Victory Fellowship
Farwell Park
Fenkel and Mendota
Fox 2
Gateway
Georgia 1
Georgia 2
Hague
Helen
Hubbel (Brotherly Love)
Kettering High School
Knodell
Labelle
Levy Middle School
Linwood and Gladstone
Martin Luther King and Third
Martin Luther King and Third, #2
Marygrove College
Mendota
Michigan State Fairground
Mumford High School
Operation Get Down
Pierson
Randolph Technical Center
Seymor
Smith Housing Projects
Stoepel
Strathmore
Trinity
University Prep Academy
Washburn
West End 1
West End 2
West End 3
West End 4
Yellowstone 1
Yellowstone 2
Some 80 community gardens are part of the Detroit Garden Resource Program, run by four groups: The Greening of Detroit, the Detroit Agricultural Network, Michigan State Extension, and Earthworks Gardens at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
Then there’s the community garden at John R and Alger Street. The bucolic garden-scape sits on what used to be an abandoned lot and dumping site, says Ashley Atkinson, program director for The Greening of Detroit.
Current Aesthetic and Brand
When looking at what Hantz Farms has established so far in terms of an identity or aesthetic, there really isn't much. The website was launched only a couple months ago and the design effort is minimal.
These design choices are simple and create a more friendly appearance, but lack substance with the use of generic stock photos instead of creating a more integrated and comprehensive solution. I imagine with the time they had to put up a website and get their message out to the public, many important things were not considered and left to tend to at another time. Releasing some vague information and ideas about the project is likely a temporary solution. Or perhaps not?
Our goal will be to consider the things that have no yet been considered in terms of branding Hantz Farms. Because it is so new, and there is not much to start with, it shouldn't be much of a stretch to rebrand and start from the beginning. As our research builds and the process continues, our methods and the way we go about designing will become more clear.
The logo is simple and unimpressive with a poorly selected font choice. I imagine the font was brought over from the Hantz Group logo to keep some sort of consistency between the two companies. It obviously communicates Detroit through the outlined skyline of the city, green through color, and growth through the plant coming up from the "R", but the logo itself is very static and does not appear to express anything that the founders stand for. The only organic form is in the illustration of the plant. The typeface is blocky and cold and appears to me to be more aggressive than friendly or warm. As a mark to represent such an innovative and organic company, I should think it would encompass these things.
Keeping a connection with Hantz Group through the font and red/maroon color isn't necessary. I suppose the use of the color green makes some sense, but everything else is either predictable or communicates nothing of substance.
The graphics on the website are also quite ordinary, consisting mostly of stock photos, boxes with rounded corners, and rounded sans-serif type.
Our goal will be to consider the things that have no yet been considered in terms of branding Hantz Farms. Because it is so new, and there is not much to start with, it shouldn't be much of a stretch to rebrand and start from the beginning. As our research builds and the process continues, our methods and the way we go about designing will become more clear.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Answering Questions
After reading a profile on John Hantz from the Detroit News, reading numerous blogs, and listening to inverviews by both John Hantz and Matt Allen, I've compiled the following information on Hantz Farms:
Profiling Jon Hantz (Founder)
Profiling Matt Allen (President)
The Gardens/Farms/Plots/Land Layout Details
What Will Be Produced
General Location
The City
The People
Benefits
Disadvantages/Challenges
Money
Profiling Jon Hantz (Founder)
- grew up in small-town Romeo
- low-key in demeanor, with a folksy manner and slight Midwestern twang
- dyslexic
- community involved
- bought/rennovated homes all over detroit
- directly impacted by blight in detroit through daily commute
- "part of the movement" to help detroit rise from the ashes
- "he's an implementer"
- "when the guy says he'll do something, he does."
- ambitious
- unconventional
- pushes the frontier
- visionary pioneer in the mold of the industrialists and innovators
- willing to plunk down up to $30 million of his own fortune to make the urban desert bloom
- charisma and leadership
- thinks outside the box
- unique ways of looking at things
- "invested my life, my emotions and my money in Detroit, and it's clear to me that the problems of the city are not going to go away by themselves"
Profiling Matt Allen (President)
- "driving past urban blight wears on a man after a while"
- "something needs to do something about it"
- "we believe in all things that can't be done"
- formerly a government appointed Press Secretary for the City of Detroit as well as a former broadcast journalist.
The Gardens/Farms/Plots/Land Layout Details
- checkerboard pattern of vacant land
- looking at area of over 600 acres
- irregularly formed farm clusters
- sustainable city of the future
- farming pods will be used as vehicles to create anchors for future growth around us
- creating new neighborhoods in and around these farm clusters
- willing to go around a church community to create irregular shaped pods
- work around already established communities or houses
- grid of blocks to the city is very beneficial to how it will be structured
- paved roads are convenient for sectioning off
- water mains and sewers will not be disrupted
- alleys and sidewalks will be removed
- streets and curbs are staying
- 10% of total area is paved by roads - use as base for greenhouses
- total sustainability - wind and solar alternatives
- hoop structures - 11 months of sustained harvesting
- no heated structures
- staggard growth
- protected from extreme cold elements
- can still harvest in cold months
- recycled building materials
- vacated streets can be veiled with solar technology that will be laced into farms
- goal to reach 5000 acres in 5 years
What Will Be Produced
- food, trees and energy products
- fruits and veggies
- christmas tree farms
- high-density orchards, 300 apple trees per acre
- juvenile pine forest paved with trails
- parks/recreation
- pumpkin patches
- hydroponic lettuce
- biofuels and wind power
- do not wish to tap into Michigan's already established potato and cherry market
General Location
- lower east side of detroit, south of 94 east of 75
- from river all the way up
- areas that are most depleted and least populated
- eastern market (possible retail location)
The City
- 139 sq miles, meant to hold 2 million people
- checkerboard vacant land
- whole large areas of depleted population
- 0-9 people per acre in one of largest cities in the US
- the post-industrial detroit will be created, the new city
The People
- sense of urban pride
- need density
- 22% of detroiters who are underemployed or unemployed, cant afford to pay them 25 bucks an hour with benefits, but will provide jobs for those people
- no intention of moving people out of homes
- 86% of detroiters are for the idea
Benefits
- restoring financial value - bring in profit to detroit
- hantz brings financial heft and business experience
- republicans like entrepreneurial aspect
- environmentalists like eco-friendly aspect
- food experts appreciate the idea of a commercial farm employing and feeding people
- growing trend at the moment, many people on board with the change
- michigan = very rainy
- opportunity for lots of research and documentation about urban farming
- could embody what can be done for sustainable cities in the future
- access to creating more healthy choices
- would help recreate the future of our city
- major educational benefits
- goal to be largest research site for agriculture in the country
- 86% of detroiters are for the idea
- more specifics here
Disadvantages/Challenges
- to some, Hantz Farms is simply a corporate entity designed (intentionally or not) to dis-empower Detroit’s black community
- food safety is often brought up as a challenge, but hantz is very committed to a deliberate course of action to do this safely
Money
The last thing Detroit needs is another non-profit. "Those are important," he says, "but the city has plenty of those." What it lacks is commercial enterprise that beautifies and improves the city, and that, he says, is his goal.
- hantz says he will pay the taxes on the used land
- wants the city to tax the property as agricultural land, not residential or commercial property
- hantz farms will be private, but working in conjunction with public entities
- "needs to be put into private hands to generate cash revenue"
- will cost 4500-7500 dollars for demolition on most plots of land
- up to 62% of the land is already in government bank hands and ready to be turned over for nominal fees
- looking more at wholesale markets, not little markets
- self invested
- no outside financial help, not taking investors - taking partners (kellogs)
Snag.
So far the odds appear to be against us in gathering information from people directly involved with the project. We've had no responses from various e-mails sent out, from the director of the Hantz Farms project to others involved in Detroit urban farms.
We did have one bite, however it has turned into another dead end. We e-mailed the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at MSU (he and various students are involved in the project) and actually received a response quite quickly, assuring us he'd be happy to help and that we should set up a phone call with his assistant. Right as that was going underway, we get a response from his assistant today telling us that they will not be able to give us any information as they've signed a non-disclosure form.
Hmm.
They did refer us to someone else, although I'm not sure what their part is in the project. So we're still waiting, waiting, waiting...
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