Urban prairie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Urban prairie is a prairie in cities in North America. In some cases, such as Detroit, Michigan, the prairies grow as parts of the city are abandoned,[1] but in others, like Des Moines, Iowa and Kansas City, Missouri they are planned by the government or non-profit groups for conservation, to restore or reintroduce a wildlife habitat, help the environment, and educate people about the prairie.[2][3]
Contents |
[edit] Abandonment
In places like Detroit, when people abandon the inner city to relocate to the suburbs, large swaths of buildings are torn down or neglected due to a shrinking tax base and increased crime. Such areas become nothing more than fields of over-grown vegetation.
This, in turn, provides habitat for wildlife, whose populations start to increase. The "urban prairie" phenomenon is occurring most conspicuously in Rust Belt cities such as Detroit, Michigan with a bevy of wild pheasant, and Buffalo, New York[citation needed] in the United States. Large expanses of urban prairie also exist in cities such as East Saint Louis, Illinois.[citation needed]
[edit] Gallery of Detroit photos
 |
 |
[edit] External links
- Detroit News article on Urban Prairie
- Detroit Blog - Wild Kingdom
- Detroit Blog - Wrong side of the tracks
- Fix Buffalo Today for Tomorrow - Demolitions and Urban Prairie...
