Big Thinker: Gary Wozniak

In the early 20th century the American city of Detroit was a booming industrial powerhouse and world leader in car manufacturing, with a population that reached nearly two million people.

But since the major car companies closed their factories, more than a million taxpayers have moved out of Detroit, leaving behind more than 100 square kilometres of vacant land, and nearly 40,000 abandoned houses.

Now after decades of urban decay, Detroit is undergoing something of a revival as a centre for a new trade – urban farming.

One visionary resident who sees the city’s vacant land as fertile ground for an urban agriculture revolution is businessman Gary Wozniak. He believes that organic urban agriculture can help clean up the city’s act after decades of being dominated by the motor industry, create jobs and boost the city’s tax base.

Wozniak has plans to create an eight square kilometre, $220m urban farming project in central Detroit – starting by converting an abandoned truck depot into a fish farm capable of producing 2,300 tonnes of tilapia a year.

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