Land allotments worked in urban Europe, could they work here?

Over in Europe they have something called allotments. They are basically little bits of land, given to residents to grow and care for. It's wildly successful and has proved to not only fill in vacant land but also provide healthy organic food in urban areas. Why couldn't this model work in Detroit?

Excerpt:

As I read recent Free Press stories about the increasing number of abandoned properties and vacant lots in Detroit and pondered a story I did months ago about pheasant hunters who train their dogs in parts of Detroit that are reverting to wildlands, I wondered why Detroit couldn't establish allotments for its residents?

I know someone has proposed creating commercial truck gardens in that area, but why should publicly owned land benefit a handful of businesses when it could provide a fantastic opportunity for thousands to get the health and economic benefits of growing fresh vegetables and flowers and the enjoyment and satisfaction doing it?

When cities all over America squander public funds to subsidize millionaires who build stadiums and other structures that fatten the pocketbooks of the builders and the campaign coffers of the political vultures who help them, it's a question worth asking.

It would be easy to start an allotment pilot program, with the city doing the initial fencing and lot-clearing and turning the plots over to gardeners.

An allotment half the size of a city lot could grow enough produce for several families to enjoy fresh corn, tomatoes and a host of other edibles at a far lower cost than buying them in a market. And I suspect a lot of Detroiters would get enormous personal satisfaction from growing food, along with flowers and other ornamental plants.

Read the entire article here.