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Ron Dzwonkowski: Carp, water shortages reasons to worry (part three)
- Ron Dzwonkowski talks with Kirk Heinze on WJR
“The one thing Detroit has is land,” says Dzwonkowski. “It’s roughly 140 square miles and doesn’t have the population density it once had. And it needs some Federal help to clear land.
“I’m not talking about garden patches; I’m talking about actually green swaths that make Detroit a more attractive place to live.”
Dzwonkowski says urban farming doesn’t mean cucumbers growing on every vacant lot.
“Commercial farming can be things like trees and landscaping products and turf – things that can take a substantial piece of land and turn it into a business.”
Dzwonkowski’s biggest concern about Detroit is the exodus of middle class families.
“You have to fix the school system,” he says. “Families will stay in areas where they have good schools. Middle class working families with children are the heart and soul of any community.
“Detroit has had a huge exodus because of its school system. If the mayor can restore credibility to the school system and get them to become an access instead of a liability, then he can start attracting families back. That’s about the sustainability of an entire city.”
Dzwonkowski thinks Detroit and Michigan ought to be aggressively going after employers in states that have water issues and recruiting them to come to Michigan.
“If water is an important part of a company’s manufacturing process, we have the water resource and the labor force they need, and we can make the land they need available in an urban or metropolitan setting.
“I just don’t think we do enough in Detroit or Michigan to market our access to this resource that is in such short supply in other parts of the country and world.”
Click on the arrow above to hear part three of Dzwonkowski’s August 6 Greening of the Great Lakes conversation with Kirk Heinze. Greening of the Great Lakes airs Friday evenings at 7 on News/Talk 760 WJR.
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