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Parks, Gardens, and Urban Forests: Detroit’s Big Opportunity
11/06/2025
Parks, Gardens, and Urban Forests: Detroit’s Big Opportunity
Welcome to Daily Detroit — your guide to what's next, what's now, and what matters in the Motor City. Today, we're diving deep into one of Detroit's biggest challenges and, possibly, its greatest opportunity: what to do with our city's vast tracts of vacant land. Since 1950, Detroit has lost 65% of its population, creating more than 100,000 vacant lots and 18 square miles of unused land. Right now, the city spends more than $1.3 million each year just mowing the grass on these empty parcels, among other costs. But what if these vacant lots were transformed into something new? Parks, forests, community gardens, and green spaces that could help stabilize neighborhoods, improve health and safety, and help us adapt to a changing climate? That's the question at the heart of the latest report from Detroit Future City: "Saving for the Future." To break this all down, I'm joined by two key voices behind the report. Kimberly Faison, Vice President for Thriving, Resilient Neighborhoods, and Sarah Hayosh, Director of Land Use and Design at Detroit Future City. We'll talk about how a dedicated land conservancy could be a game-changer for Detroit, what the research says about green space and community health, and the practical steps ahead to make this vision real. Link to the report: Feedback as always - dailydetroit -at- gmail -dot- com or leave a voicemail 313-789-3211. Follow Daily Detroit on Apple Podcasts: Or sign up for our newsletter:
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