While a very complex urban system of Detroit crumbled and the city shrunk in capital, human resources, businesses and structures, new urban niches have reopened. The most noticeable changes in Detroit's landscape are urban agriculture projects that have been spread all around the countless vacant lots and a new urban morphology and metabolism are emerging. Urban agriculture can be seen as the major driver of change. One would say that transformation into a rural‐like agricultural landscape with small urban islands could be the Detroit's future. The paper explores the contemporary urban agriculture scene in Detroit analyzing the range of urban agriculture projects and organizations. Detroit demonstrates the important role of grassroots, NGO’s, entrepreneurs and also government planning and policy. The case study reveals the value of urban agriculture in reimagining urban landscapes and food systems of shrinking cities and the importance of a systemic network in this process. This kind of approach could be transferable to the European cities rather than individual projects and strategies that have to be always carefully contextualized.