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Agrihoods on the RiseAgrihoods on the RiseDavid S. JonesJones, D.
2016-01-21T06:00:00ZHousing
Land

​​​Agrihoods have arrived in Texas. The blossoming trend of building master-planned communities around a farm instead of a golf course has taken root in Fort Bend County.

Johnson Development Corp. has begun work on Harvest Green, a 1,300-acre community off the Grand Pkwy. and West Airport Blvd. Harvest Green will have as many as 2,000 homes, more than 300 acres of farmland and several "ag-menities," including a farm-to-table restaurant, greenhouse, a grove of fruit trees, a nursery, farm stands and community gardens. Each of the home builders will offer an edible herb landscaping and an optional ready-to-grow backyard garden.

The Texas development is the latest in an estimated 200 farm-to-table master-planned communities that have sprouted across the United States. Here's a sampling.

Agritopia. This 160-acre village is inside the Phoenix metro area. There are 450 residential lots plus commercial, agricultural and open-space tracts. About Agritopia, The New York Times wrote, "The hub of neighborhood life is a small square overlooking the farm, with a coffee house, farm-to-table restaurant and honor-system farm stand. The square is also where residents line up on Wednesday evening to claim their bulging boxes of just-harvested produce, eggs and honey, which come with a $100-a-month membership in the community-supported agriculture program."

The Cannery. Opened in 2015, this 100-acre Davis, Calif., community has space for 547 solar-powered for sale, for rent, detached and attached, high-end and affordable homes. Every home is within 300 feet of a park or trail. A 7.4-acre farm provides residents and restaurants with fresh seasonal produce. The farm will be managed by the Center for Land-Based Learning, a nonprofit that plans agriculture programs for students and would-be farmers.

Serenbe. An established 900-acre community 40 minutes outside Atlanta, Ga., Serenbe has four hamlets with complementary commercial centers supported by a 25-acre organic farm and edible landscaping, including blueberry bushes along paths and sidewalks. All of the more than 400 homes have front porches, and none have backyards but face common greenspace and trails.

Prairie Crossing. The 359 single-family homes in this Illinois community were designed in the Midwestern architectural tradition and are 50 percent more energy-efficient than comparable homes in Chicago. Commuter rail service takes residents to downtown Chicago in an hour. More than 60 percent of the 677-acre site is protected open land. A certified organic farm provides homeowners with vegetables, flowers, fruits, honey and eggs.

To learn more about agrihoods, visit:

"Edible landscaping takes root in new Houston master-planned community" Houston Business Journal

"12 Agrihoods taking farm-to-table living mainstream" Resilience

"It's a beautiful day in the agrihood" The Plate

"Farm-to-table living takes root" The New York Times

"Community agriculture goes corporate with new agrihood housing developments" The Glove and Mail

"'Agrihoods' offer suburban living built around community farms, not golf courses" Huffington Post

2016-01-21T06:00:00Zhttps://www.recenter.tamu.edu/info/blog/?Item=18

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