512
of criticality), with regional energy savings by reducing food miles traveled. Finally,
because these solutions are developed from within the community itself, they
increase FEW capacity and resilience among stakeholders.
In 2013, Detroit passed its Urban Agriculture Ordinance, which gave legitimacy
to existing urban agricultural operations occurring at the City’s grassroots, amended
the City’s zoning code to define urban agricultural uses, and generally permitted
urban agricultural activities less than one acre in size (the policy criterion). The City
realized the need to address agricultural uses in its zoning code beginning in 2009
when several large-scale commercial urban farms were proposed within City boundaries by wealthy business interests, one of which was Hantz Farms. The ordinance
was developed with involvement by grassroots participants in Detroit’s urban agriculture sector and municipal staff, led by City Planning Commission staff member
Kathryn Underwood and the Urban Agriculture Work Group. The Urban Agriculture
Work Group was composed of urban agriculturalists, academics, county Cooperative
Extension officials, and representatives from city- and state-level agencies.
While Detroit’s Urban Agriculture Ordinance did not explicitly promote innovation at the FEW nexus, it gave urban agriculture in Detroit much-needed legitimacy
and strengthened prospects for developing a healthy and thriving local food system
for Detroit residents. The Urban Agriculture Ordinance is silent on the challenges of
municipal water access for agriculture in the City but does include standards for
water catchment systems on urban gardens and farms, supporting grassroots farmers who wish to innovate.
The potential for further development of supportive policy at the FEW nexus
continues through the establishment of the Detroit Office of Sustainability in 2017
and the development of a Sustainability Action Agenda for the City through a public
engagement process in 2018.
In recent years, the City of Detroit and its associated water and energy utilities
have made strides toward greater sustainability at the FEW nexus through several
municipal and municipally sanctioned planning and infrastructure initiatives. The
City of Detroit partnered with the private energy company Detroit Renewable Power
and its subsidiary Detroit Thermal to burn municipally collected waste to produce
waste-to-energy electricity for the City, as well as district heating in the Midtown
and downtown areas, with the steam produced in this process (reduced footprint).
However, the benefits of waste-to-energy production and district heating must be
weighed against the air quality concerns of burning municipal waste within the
dense City center (questioning the reduced footprint) and the overall cost-benefits
of burning versus recycling. Due to a track record of consistent emissions violations, the waste-to-energy facility remained controversial throughout its lifetime, and was permanently shut down in 2019.
At the water-energy nexus, energy optimization studies have long been part of
water utility operation in Detroit due to its flat topography, requiring pumping to
maintain surface drainage and distribute drinking water, as well as flap-gate operation to minimize structural intrusion by river water during wet weather. Recently,
the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s green infrastructure initiatives have
resulted in better watershed management in the City, including collaboration with
C. Harris et al.
of criticality), with regional energy savings by reducing food miles traveled. Finally,
because these solutions are developed from within the community itself, they
increase FEW capacity and resilience among stakeholders.
In 2013, Detroit passed its Urban Agriculture Ordinance, which gave legitimacy
to existing urban agricultural operations occurring at the City’s grassroots, amended
the City’s zoning code to define urban agricultural uses, and generally permitted
urban agricultural activities less than one acre in size (the policy criterion). The City
realized the need to address agricultural uses in its zoning code beginning in 2009
when several large-scale commercial urban farms were proposed within City boundaries by wealthy business interests, one of which was Hantz Farms. The ordinance
was developed with involvement by grassroots participants in Detroit’s urban agriculture sector and municipal staff, led by City Planning Commission staff member
Kathryn Underwood and the Urban Agriculture Work Group. The Urban Agriculture
Work Group was composed of urban agriculturalists, academics, county Cooperative
Extension officials, and representatives from city- and state-level agencies.
While Detroit’s Urban Agriculture Ordinance did not explicitly promote innovation at the FEW nexus, it gave urban agriculture in Detroit much-needed legitimacy
and strengthened prospects for developing a healthy and thriving local food system
for Detroit residents. The Urban Agriculture Ordinance is silent on the challenges of
municipal water access for agriculture in the City but does include standards for
water catchment systems on urban gardens and farms, supporting grassroots farmers who wish to innovate.
The potential for further development of supportive policy at the FEW nexus
continues through the establishment of the Detroit Office of Sustainability in 2017
and the development of a Sustainability Action Agenda for the City through a public
engagement process in 2018.
In recent years, the City of Detroit and its associated water and energy utilities
have made strides toward greater sustainability at the FEW nexus through several
municipal and municipally sanctioned planning and infrastructure initiatives. The
City of Detroit partnered with the private energy company Detroit Renewable Power
and its subsidiary Detroit Thermal to burn municipally collected waste to produce
waste-to-energy electricity for the City, as well as district heating in the Midtown
and downtown areas, with the steam produced in this process (reduced footprint).
However, the benefits of waste-to-energy production and district heating must be
weighed against the air quality concerns of burning municipal waste within the
dense City center (questioning the reduced footprint) and the overall cost-benefits
of burning versus recycling. Due to a track record of consistent emissions violations, the waste-to-energy facility remained controversial throughout its lifetime, and was permanently shut down in 2019.
At the water-energy nexus, energy optimization studies have long been part of
water utility operation in Detroit due to its flat topography, requiring pumping to
maintain surface drainage and distribute drinking water, as well as flap-gate operation to minimize structural intrusion by river water during wet weather. Recently,
the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s green infrastructure initiatives have
resulted in better watershed management in the City, including collaboration with
C. Harris et al.