Southlands is just across the street from Boundary Bay Regional Park and Centennial Beach. More than 530 acres, it is North America’s largest community deliberately rooted in food and farming, and 80% of the site is now public land. Land use is modelled on traditional agrarian villages, placing homes next to small organic farms that feed their communities.

Southlands filters the farming lifestyle through a modern, slightly urban lens. Residents will walk to the Market District and meet for coffee or take in an outdoor performance. They’ll walk and cycle 4km of multi-use pathways and roam 100 acres of parkland. They’ll also live close to nature, watching barn swallows dive over the fields, picnicking on the beach, and gazing at stars.

With a diverse selection of 950 homes, people of varying life stages will put down roots here. But more than just a place to live, Southlands is a place to make a life.

Image: Southlands

Serenbe, established since 2002 is a neighborhood focused on wellbeing, full of fresh food and fresh air. This community is set among acres of preserved forests and meadows with miles of nature trails that connect homes and restaurants with arts and businesses.

Each of Serenbe’s hamlets have complementary commercial centers focused on the elements of a well-lived life: arts for inspiration, agriculture for nourishment, health for wellbeing, play for a joy-filled life, and education for awareness.

Fresh food is another of Serenbe’s natural assets, with a 25-acre organic farm, seasonal Saturday Farmer’s Market, thriving CSA program and edible landscaping, including blueberry bushes along paths and sidewalks.

Year-round cultural events include outdoor performances from Terminus Modern Ballet, regional theatre, film series, culinary workshops and festivals, music events, and lectures, boutique shopping, art galleries, wellness services and trail riding, plus visiting artists in residence with classes, dinners and talks.

Image: Serenbe

by Aly J. Yale
From Forbes.com

Sep 12, 2019

Forget the pristine landscaping, five-star golf courses and resort-style amenities that master-planned communities have become known for. Thanks to a handful of developers and their more sustainable approach to planning, a new vision of the American neighborhood has emerged—and it’s called the “agrihood.”

Rather than lap pools and community centers, these neighborhoods boast organic farms, herb gardens and edible nature trails. They have weekend farmer’s markets, cooking classes and employ full-time farm directors and artists-in-residence. Some even have camps and children’s programs to help foster healthy, sustainable living in the next generation.

According to the Urban Land Institute, “Agrihoods offer proven financial, health, and environmental benefits—to the stakeholders involved in their implementation, to surrounding communities and to the planet.”

Image: Farmers at the Willowsford community farm in Aldie, Virginia, harvest fall greens for the neighborhood's CSA program and public farm stand. PHOTO BY DEBORAH DRAMBY