permaculture
Downsizing of Detroit to "Semi-Rural"
Submitted by staff on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 14:59Much in Boing Boing lately about the Downsizing of Detroit into Semi-Rural farms.
From the article by Cory Doctorow - 
"The city of Detroit is proposing to give over a quarter of its land to be turned into "semi-rural" fields and farms, with the surviving neighborhoods standing in "pockets in expanses of green." The proposal is politically charged (serving a death-sentence on a whole neighborhood is bound to be controversial) but the idea of "downsizing" Detroit seems to have wide acceptance."
Read the entire article and see links to more articles on this subject here.
Kronk Village in Detroit
Submitted by admin on Fri, 01/08/2010 - 18:25Kronk Village 
This project in Detroit, MI includes the historic rehabilitation and “green” adaptive reuse renovation of the existing Kronk Community Building (including the Kronk Boxing Gym founded by Emanuel Steward) as a multi-use center and the redevelopment of existing vacant public blocks and adjoining sites (Atkinson Playground) as a sustainable residential neighborhood.
There are approximately 35 acres of predominantly vacant, publicly-owned land surrounding the historic Kronk facility. The proposed new neighborhood development would contain a mix of approximately 250-350 units of affordable senior and family rental and/or cooperative housing in a variety of residential forms, including single family homes, duplexes, rowhouses and multi-family apartments. A green infrastructure of sustainable urban initiatives including a district-wide geothermal utility and food farming is integrated into a traditional, walkable, transit-oriented “New Village” plan.
The Greening of Detroit
Submitted by staff on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 22:46
Urban Agriculture Workshop
Saturday, March 13 Detroit Public Library Main 3:00-4:00 p.m. Presented by The Greening of Detroit http://www.greeningofdetroit.com/
Kronk Village in Detroit
Submitted by admin on Fri, 01/08/2010 - 18:31Kronk Village 
This project in Detroit, MI includes the historic rehabilitation and “green” adaptive reuse renovation of the existing Kronk Community Building (including the Kronk Boxing Gym founded by Emanuel Steward) and adjoining sites (Atkinson Playground) as a multi-use center and the redevelopment of existing vacant public blocks as a sustainable residential neighborhood consisting of various forms of affordable housing in the area bounded by I-94 on the south, McGraw and Warren Avenues on the north, 28th Street on the east, and 35th Street and the ThyssenKrupp facility on the west.
Great Lakes Gardens Organic Urban Farming Demo by Ryan Rowinski
Submitted by admin on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 16:103 part detailed tour of the Organic Urban Demonstration garden by Michigan State University Crop and Soil Scientist Ryan Rowinski at the Michigan State Fair Sept, 2009. Helpful strategies and techniques for the Urban Farmer.
Compostable Toilets
Composting toilets are toilet systems which treat human waste by composting and dehydration to produce a useable end-product that is a valuable soil additive.
They use little or no water, are not connected to expensive sewage systems, cause no environmental damage and produce a valuable resource for gardening.
New Work is implementing compostable and waterless toilets in its many projects in developing nations. Such New Work technologies also have global-wide implications for a sustainable future.
For more information on this technology visit the Wikipedia entry or the sustainability wiki Appropedia.
Urban Farming
Permaculture is an efficient and sustainable system of agriculture. Crops are grown in clusters, often mixed together or placed in terraces one above the other. By carefully selecting the plants and their placement, the waste from one becomes the fertilizer for the next.
Permaculture not only provides high yields from smaller plots, it is good for renovating land that has been neglected or overfarmed.
Permaculture exists in force in South Africa. The Tlholego Ecovillage is situated on 120ha (300 acres) of land outside Rustenburg in the Northwest Province of South Africa. Attached directly below is a Powerpoint presentation detailing the vertical garden collaborative of Lift Africa Technologies and the communities of Jane Furse and Orange Farm.
Africa
Africa
- Lift Africa Technologies -
Lift Africa Technologies is a Non Profit Section 21 Organization affiliated to New Work which makes available and trains people in the use of advanced technologies. This enables members of the community to produce, for themselves, the majority of products they need for a modern comfortable life. It is the aim of Lift Africa to re-energize people with a vision not only of economic independence, but of renewed culture and individual development.
Technologies In Action
Powerpoint file with images of New Work technologies in action in South Africa - vertical agriculture, waterless toilets, mortarless bricks.
Recent blog posts
