The Final Frontier

Postindustrial Futures

One year ago, I embarked on a grand adventure into the great unknown. The final frontier, if you will. I was building off seven years of frustrating yet rewarding work for the land trusts Baltimore Green Space and NeighborSpace of Baltimore County. My job for both organizations was to help communities protect and improve their green space. Not public parks, formerly vacant land. The lots left behind by urban expansion.

Vacant land in West Baltimore

After leaving Baltimore Green Space, I was in Cleveland working on my Master’s Thesis in Community & Economic Development. As part of my effort to evaluate 5 urban farms through the lens of regenerative economics, I found myself at Rid-All Green Partnership. To say it was a powerful experience is an understatement. They have 20+ acres dedicated to food, fun and community programming right in the heart of Cleveland’s “Forgotten Triangle.” But those are just words.

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A greenhouse at Rid-All Green Partnership

After that magical afternoon in Cleveland, I went back to my buddy Michael’s place (who’s way smarter than me). I told him I wanted to help other “forgotten” communities reimagine their futures. So after two days of me and Michael lumbering through the mind-numbing details of starting a business, Postindustrial Futures was born.

The Sisyphus Effect

In this last year I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out what’s worth my time and energy. I think a lot about the mythological Sisyphus, who spends his eternity in the underworld rolling a boulder uphill over and over again. Spoiler alert: it always rolls back down.

I try to catch myself when I feel like I’m repeatedly rolling that same boulder uphill only to have it roll back down. For instance, why did I spend so much time trying to build an audience on Facebook? Stubbornness, I imagine. Well, we’re shelving that effort!

This also means it’s time to wrap up my beloved Beyond the Rust blog as a 12-month series. This has been fun, but is it moving the needle for Postindustrial Futures? Certainly not. I’m not saying I’ll never revisit blogging, but for now, consider this my magnum opus (that’s a fancy way of saying “this be the last”).

Trimming the Fat

Consider it this way: if my weekly activities were weight, it’d be time for a diet. Here’s what I’m cutting as part of my personal weight loss plan:

Facebook (dormant)
Beyond the Rust blog (indefinite hiatus)
Twice-weekly TikTok/Instagram Posts (down to 1x)
Butchers Hill Flea Market (out)
Butchers Hill Streetscape (time reduction)
EXTRA work around my own community (not necessary)
Business meetings of limited relevance
Pro-bono work
Unfulfilling relationships
Good-not-great TV shows, movies and books
Social activities of limited interest

Look, we know Facebook to marketing is like Twinkies to a proper diet. But boy this blog is as sweet to me as Taharka Bros… But weight loss requires sacrifice!

Priorities, Priorities

I’m claiming my days back, folks. Main thing on the menu? Getting that bread (yes, my diet analogy is falling apart).

So far we’ve been heavily reliant on Chesapeake Bay Trust (CBT) for our funding. Thanks to them we’ve now wrapped up our youth workshop series in Central West Baltimore.

The youth visit John Street Park in Bolton Hill, Baltimore

Plus we’re close to finishing our project to activate Lower Gwynns Falls Park.

The beautiful but seldom-used Lower Gwynns Falls Park

And of course our efforts aimed at turning the vacant land in Auchentoroly Terrace into protected and sustainable community green space.

Auchentoroly Terrace community presentation

In terms of long-term funding though, none of these are sustainable. While we await more CBT grants, what we really need is a big award or a long-term contract. And while we are in the early stages of a couple contracts through the City of Baltimore, I’m not holding my breath. Until then, we keep working, keep dreaming.

Dreaming of Cleveland

Now, I’m not one for talking and not acting, so I’m happy to say that we are literally going to Cleveland today in search of a large or long-term project. This time when we return we will be welcomed with open arms to Rid-All Green Partnership. That’s because co-founder Dr. Greenhand is now on our board of advisors. It’s largely through him that we have meetings set up with Food Strong, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Ohio City Farm and Councilman Richard Starr.

A Food Strong workshop in Cleveland

Our hope is to design a project building off of the legacy of the CLEVLOT program which was spearheaded by the EPA to help Cleveland residents reuse vacant land. It ended in 2024 but now represents an opportunity to build on.

This could be a real chance to set the standard for vacant land transformation throughout the American Rust Belt.

The Final Frontier

Maybe the final frontier represents the unknown. Maybe it’s easier to push the same boulder uphill over and over again knowing the result will always be the same. What if it’s fear of the unknown that condemns us to this brutal repeating pattern?

The question I’m asking myself is, what are these postindustrial futures that we so envision? Does Cleveland lead us to the 100,000 vacant lots of Detroit? Does it lead to the shrinking nations of Spain, Greece, Japan?

Urban vacant land in Japan. Credit: Johan Andrei Brooks

How about post-war Ukraine? And there is precedent. Dr. Greenhand works with partners around the world. So does my other new board member Michael Fortunato. That’s why I brought them on. Because they keep me dreaming.

End of an Era

In short, this blog may be ending, but the real work is just beginning. No more pushing boulders uphill. Too many calories. I’d much rather venture into the unknown. How about you? What’s your frontier?

Postindustrial Futures