As the city of Detroit struggles with population loss and dwindling industrial jobs, farms and community gardens offer the city a positive nudge.
The New York Times' food writer Mark Bittman travels to Detroit to see how food and farming are changing the city for the better.
"Food is central. Justice, security, a sense of community, and more intelligent land use have become integral to the food system. Here, local food isn't just hip, it's a unifying factor not only among African-Americans and whites but between them. Food is an issue on which it seems everyone can agree, and this is a lesson for all of us.
'The idea,' says Malik Yakini, a school principal who runs the two-acre D-Town Farm, 'is to help black people stand up, to demonstrate that creating reality is not the exclusive domain of white people - without pointing fingers at white people.' The farm, located in Rouge Park - the city's biggest - will soon double in size."
FULL STORY: Imagining Detroit

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
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Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
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Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
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MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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