Emanuel: Turn Eyesores Into Urban Farms
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Green acres could be sprouting up all over the city of Chicago if Mayor Rahm Emanuel has his way.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Bernie Tafoya reports, Mayor Emanuel on Tuesday stood in an urban farm, in what was once an abandoned truck depot at 33rd and Iron streets in the Bridgeport neighborhood.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Bernie Tafoya reports
Podcast
He says he wants city ordinances updated so abandoned land all over the city can generate new jobs, and food for those in and around neighborhoods that are called food deserts.
"Our ordinance will deal with the ability of turning a plot like this, that was an eyesore, into an economic engine in the neighborhood – that's one creating hundreds of jobs just here in this one site, and there are thousands of sites like this throughout the city," Emanuel said.
The mayor says Walgreens and Wal-Mart have already said they would buy and distribute food grown at urban farms.
