The Garden is a Weapon in the War

Efforts to undermine Detroit turned on encouraging new land uses. This chapter explores how a diverse range of actors—from activists to planners, financiers, and foundations—began to herald postindustrial Detroit for its agrarian potential. It tells the story of financier John Hantz's controversial proposal to build the world's largest urban forest in the center of the city. It contrasts the aspirations of Hantz Farms with those of a Black radical farming project called Feedom Freedom, which exemplifies a broader movement in Detroit to respond to late capitalism and political abandonment by establishing community infrastructures and institutions that support Black life.