In the '00s, housing built around golf courses was all the rage. Stephanie Simon reports that today's consumer wants to live next to an organic farm, vineyard or other micro-rural setting.
Simon theorizes that agriculture-lite is the hot new real estate strategy is driven by "...environmental concern, nostalgia for a simpler life and a dollop of marketing savvy."
She interviews the principal developer behind Bundoran Farm, "...a 2,300-acre development set amid apple orchards and cattle pastures outside Charlottesville, Va." While development has slowed with the rest of the housing market, this project and others like it are faring better than most.
Simon explains the various strategies for incorporating farms into residential housing, from community gardens to contracting with local farmers.
"The trend has its roots in the growing distaste for prototypical suburban sprawl," she explains.
Read the full story: An Apple Tree Grows in Suburbia
Cows at Tennessee's 'Silicon Ranch' graze under solar panels
The project aims to prove that agriculture and solar energy production can work in tandem.
Florida Farm Bill Blocks Local Bans on Gas-Powered Tools
The law also paves the way for agricultural uses on land previously designated for conservation.
Arizona Tightens Groundwater Restrictions to Rein in Agribusinesses
The state is creating an ‘active management area’ in the western part of the state, where agribusinesses including a Saudi alfalfa exporter have practically free rein over water supplies.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Eating, littering on Singapore buses now a fineable offense
Passengers who put other riders in danger may be charged thousands of Singapore dollars.
This rural Oklahoma town doesn’t want a data center. It may not be able to stop the project
With the project outside city limits and little county oversight of unincorporated land, officials are considering measures to gain local control.
Trump administration unlawfully slashed $7 billion in clean energy grants, judge rules
The Environmental Protection Agency ended the Solar For All program, which provided the grants, after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello