With scores of foreclosures and a mounting supply of vacant urban lots, the establishment of urban farms is gaining momentum, not only with community-based organizations but also with entrepreneurs who have an eye on greener economies for struggling cities. In New Orleans, rental property owners who couldn't rebuild after Katrina opted to lease their land for the Villere Urban Farm project, which is growing produce for the local neighborhood. The ambitious, for-profit Hantz Farms venture in Detroit plans to convert more than 70 acres of underutilized vacant lands and abandoned properties on the city's lower east side to grow local fruit, vegetables and trees. These city-based "farmland reclamation" efforts join the ranks of established programs such as Greensgrow Farm in Philadelphia and Growing Power in Milwaukee.
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