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other systems that were designed for more than double its current population and
industrial capacity, have created a substantial economic burden for ongoing system
maintenance and a constraint for technological innovation. Until more recently,
mainly non-municipal actors at the grassroots level have driven innovative work at the
FEW nexus in Detroit. Many of the main players involved in developing Detroit’s
sustainable systems at the FEW nexus are Civil Society (Social Impact and private)
entities which are working in areas of sustainability and food systems, as well as individuals within the City’s urban agricultural network such as entrepreneurial market
growers and community gardeners, and leaders within City departments and regional
agencies such as the Great Lakes Water Authority (part of the Detroit Water and
Sewerage Department before it was separated from DWSD as part of the city’s 2014
bankruptcy settlement).
Examples of innovations at the FEW nexus in Detroit are numerous but generally
small-scale. The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) is
innovating at the FEW nexus at its D-Town Farm located in the municipally owned
Rouge Park on Detroit’s Northwest side. Along with producing food and promoting
food justice and autonomy within the Black community (the affordability criterion),
DBCFSN has developed a system for water catchment for use on its extensive urban
farm, creates compost from its agricultural waste, and has installed solar panels to
power a water pump for rainwater reuse on the farm (decreased footprint). The
DBCFSN is also engaged in developing a consumer food co-operative, The Detroit
People’s Food Co-op, on a campus that will offer a community kitchen and affordable housing. Such developments enhance FEW equity, both by improving access
to food and housing but also cultivating African-American leadership on communitybased solutions.
The Earthworks Urban Farm at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen on the East Side of
Detroit has integrated FEW nexus innovations into its operations in a way similar to
D-Town Farm. The two and a half acre Earthworks Urban Farm grows 14,000
pounds of USDA Certified Organic produce per year for use at the Capuchin Soup
Kitchen, distribution to the surrounding community, and for sale at its farm stand.
The farm offers a training program in agriculture for adults and an after-school program for children, among other initiatives. Earthworks employs three water collection tanks, two below ground and one above, to gather rainwater from gutters on top
of the farm’s hoop house. This water is then pumped from the tanks for use in the
irrigation of crops by a solar-powered water pump.
Though small-scale, D-Town Farms’ and Earthworks’ systems use FEW innovation to realize several important environmental, municipal, and organizational benefits that can serve as examples for other individuals, businesses, and organizations,
and that should be considered in the creation of future city policies regarding sustainability. For example, the farms’ catchment systems offer water for food production at a higher quality and lower cost than municipal water services can provide;
the collection of water from farm structures limits the amount of stormwater runoff
entering an already overstressed municipal combined sewer infrastructure, saving
additional energy in wastewater treatment. Locally, food produced from the farms
supports the local community and strengthens the urban food system (the criterion
18 Cities at the Nexus
other systems that were designed for more than double its current population and
industrial capacity, have created a substantial economic burden for ongoing system
maintenance and a constraint for technological innovation. Until more recently,
mainly non-municipal actors at the grassroots level have driven innovative work at the
FEW nexus in Detroit. Many of the main players involved in developing Detroit’s
sustainable systems at the FEW nexus are Civil Society (Social Impact and private)
entities which are working in areas of sustainability and food systems, as well as individuals within the City’s urban agricultural network such as entrepreneurial market
growers and community gardeners, and leaders within City departments and regional
agencies such as the Great Lakes Water Authority (part of the Detroit Water and
Sewerage Department before it was separated from DWSD as part of the city’s 2014
bankruptcy settlement).
Examples of innovations at the FEW nexus in Detroit are numerous but generally
small-scale. The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) is
innovating at the FEW nexus at its D-Town Farm located in the municipally owned
Rouge Park on Detroit’s Northwest side. Along with producing food and promoting
food justice and autonomy within the Black community (the affordability criterion),
DBCFSN has developed a system for water catchment for use on its extensive urban
farm, creates compost from its agricultural waste, and has installed solar panels to
power a water pump for rainwater reuse on the farm (decreased footprint). The
DBCFSN is also engaged in developing a consumer food co-operative, The Detroit
People’s Food Co-op, on a campus that will offer a community kitchen and affordable housing. Such developments enhance FEW equity, both by improving access
to food and housing but also cultivating African-American leadership on communitybased solutions.
The Earthworks Urban Farm at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen on the East Side of
Detroit has integrated FEW nexus innovations into its operations in a way similar to
D-Town Farm. The two and a half acre Earthworks Urban Farm grows 14,000
pounds of USDA Certified Organic produce per year for use at the Capuchin Soup
Kitchen, distribution to the surrounding community, and for sale at its farm stand.
The farm offers a training program in agriculture for adults and an after-school program for children, among other initiatives. Earthworks employs three water collection tanks, two below ground and one above, to gather rainwater from gutters on top
of the farm’s hoop house. This water is then pumped from the tanks for use in the
irrigation of crops by a solar-powered water pump.
Though small-scale, D-Town Farms’ and Earthworks’ systems use FEW innovation to realize several important environmental, municipal, and organizational benefits that can serve as examples for other individuals, businesses, and organizations,
and that should be considered in the creation of future city policies regarding sustainability. For example, the farms’ catchment systems offer water for food production at a higher quality and lower cost than municipal water services can provide;
the collection of water from farm structures limits the amount of stormwater runoff
entering an already overstressed municipal combined sewer infrastructure, saving
additional energy in wastewater treatment. Locally, food produced from the farms
supports the local community and strengthens the urban food system (the criterion
18 Cities at the Nexus