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.
I initially misread that as residents must grow 50% of their own food, but it’s just that 50% of their property must be growing food, and that’s fantastic.
Not a bad idea. I mean, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to grow commodity vegetables without the economy of scale production, but small plots are perfect for all sorts of diverse produce.
I hope they aren’t picky about enforcement. I’d hope things like maple syrup production or beekeeping would count.
Pretty sure those things you mentioned would be fine. My parents have a small vegetable garden for their own use and the rest of the 50% requirement are berry bushes and fruit trees.
It’s not a harsh requirement that 50% needs to be crops or produce. Just any kind of food producing plant / tree will do.
It’s great for people who are into it, but what if you just hate gardening?
Then you find a home elsewhere.
