SDF Chatter

Summary

Oosterwold, a Dutch suburb east of Amsterdam, requires residents to dedicate 50% of their property to food production, making it a unique urban planning experiment.

Residents design their own homes, manage infrastructure collaboratively, and grow food in diverse ways, from personal gardens to outsourced farming.

While some succeed, others face challenges due to limited guidance, prompting the creation of a Food Hub to support efforts.

Experts praise Oosterwold’s model for its ecological, social, and economic potential, emphasizing its replicability for sustainable urban development in other regions worldwide.

"The area, which has about 5,000 residents and a growing waiting list, is completely self-sufficient. Residents can build houses however they like, and must collaborate with others to figure out things such as street names, waste management, roads, and even schools. But the local government has included one extremely unusual requirement: about half of each plot must be devoted to urban agriculture."