An agrihood is a type of

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

that integrates

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

into a residential neighborhood. The purpose is to facilitate food production as well as provide green space, recreation, aesthetics and value for a community. The

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as s ...

defines agrihoods as " single-family, multifamily, or mixed-use communities built with a working farm or community garden as a focus." In 2014, the term "agrihood" was first introduced by Southern California-based development company Rancho Mission Viejo LLC as a marketing trademark to target affluent

millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...

who wanted housing closer to fresh food. Agrihoods are based around the concept of integrating farms and gardens into neighborhoods, allowing for the development of residential neighborhoods that have a rural feel. Integrating agriculture into neighborhoods also allows for communities to supply themselves with locally-produced food. Real estate developers may find that introducing agriculture to their planned communities has a lower initial cost than typically offered amenities such as golf courses or swimming pools, and sets the development apart from the competition. However, developers have also discovered that running an agricultural project is not necessarily easy, inexpensive or risk-free. The best results have come from hiring agricultural staff to run the operations, rather than allowing residents free-access and free-roam of the operation. , there were 90 agrihoods in the United States according to the

. There are over 100 agrihoods in the United States according t
Building the Agrihood
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Urban agrihood

Some

community gardens A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plo ...

in established urban neighborhoods and urban agricultural projects have used the term "agrihood" to describe their operations. Their purposes are to reduce

food insecurity Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

and to provide fresh food resources in urban

food desert Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ing ...

Urban agrihood

References

Further reading