The phenomena, known as urban agriculture, has rapidly increased in recent years, said Ashley Atkinson, director of urban agriculture for the Greening of Detroit.

“We had 80 gardens when we started in 2003,” Atkinson said. “We’re projecting 1,300 for 2010.”

The program is simple: Organizations, households and individuals can obtain training and materials to begin urban farms, Atkinson said.

“We give them resources it is difficult to find access to, like green sand, transplants and seeds,” Atkinson said. “We pair those resources with a ton of education and comprehensive class in farming and sustainable agriculture.”

A study by Kathryn Colasanti, an MSU graduate student in community, agriculture, recreation and resource studies, concluded Detroit had at least 2,000 acres of vacant public land available for improvement.

When lots with vacant buildings and other structures are considered, the number of acres increases to about 5,000. For comparison, MSU has about 3,163 acres dedicated to farmland.

“They are scattered all over the city,” Colasanti said.

“There is a higher concentration on the east side of the city, but the acres are certainly not contiguous.”

Colasanti said she calculated 75 percent of the vegetables needs and about 50 percent of the fruit needs for city residents could be taken care of by using the land for urban agriculture.

Using the land for agriculture would benefit the city and state in more than one way, said Susan Smalley, director of the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU, which promotes community engagement and scholarly activity on community-based food systems.

“Certainly if the land is used for farming it is generating income and it becomes taxable,” Smalley said.

“(Vacant land) requires attention from governmental units to keep weeds down and varmints out. It may be lessening some of the cost on the tax rolls even if it is a small amount.”

Smalley said other advantages to farming the land include the impact on health and public awareness.

“With good, fresh food close at hand, it can have the potential of feeding people in a better way,” Smalley said.

“Michigan is in the middle of an epidemic of obesity. It is so difficult to get fresh food. Having fresh food grown could improve people’s diet terrifically.”

Atkinson said city officials have shown interest in urban farming and are looking into possibly revising zoning code as it relates to gardening and agriculture in the city. She said the attention directed at the agriculture will be advantageous to residents.

“I think the community organizations and households with gardens have a stabilizing effect,” Atkinson said. “It keeps people engaged in a positive way and provides alternatives to trash-strewn vacant lots.”