Duany Plans For 'Urban Agriculture' in B.C.

"The Southlands could be a pioneering model community, says a world-renowned urban planner who unveiled the outcome of an intensive design undertaking Tuesday evening.

About 300 people packed a large tent next to the Southlands Barn to see what Andrés Duany and a team of architects and planners had come up with in combining housing, agriculture and other amenities for the contentious Tsawwassen property.

Using goals and principles set out by the Southlands Community Planning Team, the international design team hired by the Century Group was tasked to come up with development layouts for the 538-acre property. The exercise was called a design charrette and spanned eight days.

After many ideas and several plans were considered, the result was the creation of two innovative community concepts. Each plan is similar in most aspects, providing almost 2,000 housing units, playing fields, a college and a neighbourhood market square.

A key aspect of both is the opportunity for urban agriculture through everything from community gardens to small plots to larger acreages."