Urban agriculture and the shrinking cities

When reading a very interesting article concerning the urban agriculture plans for Detroit, formerly the forth city of the USA, I've just thought how to evoid similar mistakes elsewhere.
Why calling this mistake, even huge mistake? Although "Alex Krieger, chairman of the department of urban planning and design at Harvard, imagines what the settled world might look like half a century from now, he sees "a checkerboard pattern" with "more densely urbanized areas, and areas preserved for various purposes such as farming."  And even if " After studying the city's options at the request of civic leaders, the American Institute of Architects came to this conclusion in a recent report: "Detroit is particularly well suited to become a pioneer in urban agriculture at a commercial scale." Of course that in the current situation of Detroit the best solution has been chosen. But..

Just look at the second part of the film below:

Detroit Wildlife from florent tillon on Vimeo.
Another, also very interesting film I've found on You Tube. A bit more controversial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz_vDOrqOOQ

When looking at the pigs, hens and horses strolling next to the former factories and offices, as well as empty housing estates of height intensity, there is nothing like thinking of the Medieval Ages, when the new life was born on the ruins of former Roman civilisation. Anyway this contrast of country and city scape combined together shocks me. It is something different then the urban gardening, presented e.g. here.

The source: Gazeta Wyborcza Biznes

The problem of shrinking cities should become subject of integrated urban planning. Like in some German towns, e.g. Hoyerswerda (above), where the blocks of housing built during the times of prosperity are demolished and the new parks are created and forest is planted. And as the  prevention is always better than treatment the urban development plans should reduce the supply of new areas for development.

The former fire depot in Sienkiewicza Street, demolished, source: http://www.dlalodzi.info/ , more info on Lodz and its industrial heritage: http://www.dlalodzi.info/

The city of Lodz where I live also shrinks. It is quite similar to Detroit - the architecture is similar as well as the industrial character of the downtown. After the closure of great public textile factories the social problems have been growing and the number of inhabitants has been shrinking.

The picture showing the layout of planned zones of development in the subsequent plans, the lack of continuation is evident. The source: the materials of study of conditions and development of Lodz.

The former plans used to indicate new areas for development. Which was quite easy in Poland because of the low importance of private property, which was easy to expropriate in the times of socialism. This is quite complicated issue, and as I imagine:  difficult to understand for people who have not lived here in these times.

Current study of conditions and directions for our city (which is the general urban planning document concerning the whole city, according to Polish legal regulations) which was approved by the City Council in 2002 assumed the main objective: to stop the new development. And now we see the first results, e.g. the new development in the downtown. There are continous trials to change the document. The debate between the land proprietors and the rest of inhabitants has not even started really. But this is another subject.

What is important for this and similar issues here is the obligation of the European regulations to provide the technical infrastructure: piping, etc for all the urban areas. And the costs of these undertakings stop the appetites , at least a little bit. So maybe we won't breed cows and chickens in the center..