Detroit Turned Three Acres Into a Community Farm (4 Photos)

Detroit’s skyline rises beyond rows of vegetables and marigolds.

In Detroit’s North End, the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative runs a nearly three-acre campus centered around 7432 Brush Street. Its campus-tour page describes a two-acre urban farm, a children’s sensory garden and a high-density fruit orchard. These four photographs show the project from ground level and above.

🌇 A Farm Beneath Detroit’s Skyline — Michigan Urban Farming Initiative 🇺🇸

From above, long crop rows fill much of the block. U-M’s Detroit timeline reports that more than 10,000 volunteers helped the organization grow and distribute over 50,000 pounds of produce to more than 2,000 households. Image source: MUFI.

💡 Nerd Fact: Founded in 2011 by University of Michigan students Tyson Gersh and Darin McLeskey, MUFI predates Detroit’s 2013 Urban Agriculture Ordinance.

🌼 Marigolds Beside a Mural-Covered Building — Michigan Urban Farming Initiative 🇺🇸

Marigolds run between the vegetable beds, while a crop-and-bee mural covers the building beyond. MUFI identifies it as a six-unit apartment building constructed in 1915 and purchased by the organization in 2011. Its project documentation describes plans to rehabilitate it as a community resource center. Image source: MUFI.

💡 Nerd Fact: A 2017 redevelopment brief said the building would use more than 30 advanced materials and systems, including wall and ceiling insulation repurposed from General Motors vehicle-insulation scrap. Wood removed from the building was to be made into furniture and other items.

🪧 The Farm at Street Level — Michigan Urban Farming Initiative 🇺🇸

MUFI’s wooden sign stands among crop beds and marigolds, with a greenhouse and Detroit’s skyline beyond. YES! Magazine published the same photograph and credits it to Michelle Gerard.

💡 Nerd Fact: In 2019, farm manager Quan Blunt told YES! Magazine that MUFI grew plenty of hot peppers and collard greens because North End residents liked them. At the time, MUFI was also exploring a hot sauce made from its peppers.

🌿 Growing Rows Beside the Farm Sign — Michigan Urban Farming Initiative 🇺🇸

On its official projects page, MUFI divides its nearly three-acre campus roughly into thirds: production farming, interactive agriculture, and structures or other hardscaped space.

💡 Nerd Fact: MUFI says it retained the basement of a deconstructed house and turned it into a rainwater cistern that supplies the adjoining farm through drip irrigation. A 2017 announcement put its planned capacity at 16,000 gallons and said it would reduce runoff into Detroit’s sewer system.

Which one is your favorite?