Cultivating Urbanism: The Agroecological Landscape of the Post-Industrial Shrinking City of Detroit

This project uses agroecology- the science, practice, and movement of conservation agriculture, to theorize the evolving role of urban design in reforming the post-industrial shrinking City of Detroit. It analyzes pioneering urban agricultural practices (UA) as a mode of spatial reclamation and re-assemblage of the city from 1893 to the present. It reveals the socio-ecological impacts of these practices, such as the genesis of cooperative initiatives that define urban policies in Detroit. These impacts drive regional master planning efforts, ecological and economic value restoration of vacant lands, real-estate development, amendments to the UA Ordinance, and food access-related policymaking in Detroit. Overall, this research renders visible the relationship between ‘cultivated’ lands and the urban ecosystem to apprehend the role of urban design in a post-industrial shrinking context.