Story number 1: All that vacant Detroit real estate is beckoning to new pioneers who see opportunities while other flee the devastated city.

NPR today ran a story of young entrepreneurs and artists who are buying vacant Detroit properties for radical bargain prices: one house sold for $100. Here the full story.

As the old bureaucratic economy fails, creative people who couldn’t afford the high entry costs of tightly regulated and taxed cities carrying enormous government expense and waste, now are getting chances. It’s for the brave, the mostly young, willing to take risks and pioneer new economies. Like the old west, it can be dangerous, the city doesn’t have full police patrols any more. But when governments fail, opportunities open for new creativity. Look for more opportunities coming your way, and see the accompanying story below.

Story 2: Urban farmers work to save Detroit
In recession-racked Detroit, lack of food is a serious problem. Supermarkets fled after bankruptcies and unemployment left block after block of abandoned properties.

It’s no longer just the homeless or the really poor, reports a volunteer at the New Life food pantry to CNN; but former breadwinners are now in desperate need. To fill the gap, volunteers have pitched in to help at local charitable food pantries. Donations have risen too.

And some Detroiters are busy restoring vacant land to useful productivity. Community gardening has caught on in a big way. Farmer’s markets and produce stands dot the city.

Dan Carmody, president of Eastern Market Corp., is trying to set up a program that allows food stamp recipients to purchase twice as much if they buy from a local farmer. That would help the Detroit economy, and improve public health. Fresh foods are in short supply since the town is left with only corner groceries that offer cheap, processed foods.

Detroit urban farmers also offer outreach programs to teach children about the value of healthy foods. The kids learn how to garden so they can start their own gardens at home. This video offers hope that the next generation can become healthier and more self-sufficient than their parents. Maybe Detroit’s story will inspire communities across this nation to encourage more gardens, for health, productivity, and resilience.

Some are devastated by the recession, but sharing can grow love and rewards.

T.R.E. Frankel’s from B-Rilla on Vimeo.

Politicians say the economy is turning around. But on Main Street more and more Americans are losing jobs and homes. “Economic homeless” is a term for those newly displaced by layoff, foreclosures, or other financial troubles caused by the burst financial bubble.

“For the economic homeless the American ideal that education and hard work lead to a comfortable middle-class life has slipped out of reach.
‘My parents always taught me to work hard in school, go to college, get a degree and you’ll do fine. You’ll do better than your parents’ generation,’” Jim Marshall told USA/TODAY reporter Emily Bazar.

Now an unemployed Detroit autoworker, Marshall spent three months sleeping on sidewalks before landing in a Florida tent city. Homeless shelters are overflowing beyond capacity and the waiting list is long.

Fortunately private charities are stepping up to fill the gap. Across the country many private charities provide food and care packages; churches host tent cities on their properties. In Pinellas County, Florida, Catholic Charities are building wooden sheds as more permanent studio apartments to supplement local tent cities.
To read the full USA/TODAY article click here. And for more ways citizens are helping the economic homeless see ChooseWings’ Housing Strategies archives.