Not to be the skunk at the picnic among my fellow freepers, but I think this is a splendid idea. It took far too long. I’ve been saying to do this in abandoned neighborhoods in Cleveland for a decade.
I’ll love it even more if the gardens/orchards/farms are operated as private enterprises, rather than collectives. Yes, profit generating entities. This article demonstrates once again, that capitalism succeeds every place it is earnestly tried. Imagine, someone thought to sell, via delivery, fresh produce in areas where many people are without autos. And I suspect there are no supermarkets in the area to buy fresh produce, either. To the residents, this must feel like a godsend.
And don’t underestimate the value of gardening outside all day long in the summer; you’re too damn tired to get into any trouble. :)
In case you want to alert the usual suspects, boss!
:)
In theory it’s a good idea, but sounds inefficient to me.
Maintaining the road, water and electricity grid over 50 square miles with 20% population costs 5x as much as maintaining 10 SM fully populated.
Instead of having a sparsely populated “city” of large geographical area, it would make a lot more sense to abandon entire areas and return it to agriculture and create a much smaller but still densely populated city.
I agree with you. Either do it there or, “Coming to a neighborhood near you”. The people who are suffering aren’t the a$$ wipes that destroyed the city. The idiots who couldn’t make an honest (non-corrupt) decision if their lives depended on it have long gone to find some other community to help with “the man’s” money. Community, hell they’re part of the president’s cabinet/czarism.
Agree. It's no surprise to see thread peppered with naysayers. I guess it's understandable why there is so much pessimism abroad. But, when folks stand up and actually DO something, when folks TRY to achieve and create, why do some folks feel the need to deride and mock?
Yes but the land belongs to the city bureaucracy, and all bureaucracies resent private success and they’ll muck up his/her gardens somehow. Regulation, repossession, demands for bribes, etc.
>>I’ll love it even more if the gardens/orchards/farms are operated as private enterprises, rather than collectives. Yes, profit generating entities.
I hope so too. I like working on my garden and can see how it would teach younger urban people a lot of great values—you need to put in the preparation, remain vigilant against pests, and in the end you get a great tasting product which you can hopefully sell for a profit. Preparation, persistence, hard work.