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As an American growing up in a suburb on a 1/2 acre, these numbers aren't making any sense to me; 175 acres should support at least 175 families and each 1/2 a

As an American growing up in a suburb on a 1/2 acre, these numbers aren't making any sense to me; 175 acres should support at least 175 families and each 1/2 acre should be able to support a small business and garden plot on those resources, and eco erosion controls, streams and wetlands... If of a even slightly conservative mindset.

brylie 5y ago
From the video, there are four on-site organic farms. Garden plots may not produce enough food to sustain the community. Also, it looks like there are natural open spaces preserved on some of the acreage.
- smileysteve 5y ago
  These suburb neighborhoods in America though use that extra 1/2 acre per family to support swim, tennis, playground, small football fields, community house. Anecdotally; the neighborhood of 400 houses, each on 1/2 acre,I reference was < 1 mile distance to an elementary, high school, chain grocery store, and local store fronts - and served 4 similar neighborhoods in 1 mile distance. Other "eco" features supported were 3 retention ponds and multiple streams. Was it eco? No. If everybody had a garden plot, and biked would it be more eco than this (1/2 to 1/3 the density) neighborhood selling itself as eco, probably
ericd 5y ago
If you watch the video, they mention that they left ~90% of it to nature, iirc, though I’m not sure if they include the farms in that. Does that clear it up?
- smileysteve 5y ago
  No, because for each 1/2 acre plot in an American suburb there is roughly 1/4 acre in borders. So if you average 4 person households, you need 60 houses to meet that 230 population on 30 acres that's ~82%+10% from the borders. To clarify, I'm not saying American suburbs are eco, or working communally like this; I'm only saying the numbers in the title (and 90% nature) don't seem to make this eco in a standout way moreso than a green space (or large community garden) next to a neighborhood.
  - dkersten 5y ago
    The houses are close together "village-style". There's a part early on in the video where the lady compares the previous owners plans for building traditional suburbs to their own setup and how it differs. Each "neighborhood" is a tightly packed cluster of houses with pedestrian-only paths and 90% of the total land is not built on. Each neighborhood was said to be 5 acres, so x3 = 15 acres residential while 10% is 17.5 (so maybe the farm structures? Or maybe they're in the 90%, I'm unsure) The point is, the homes don't each have their own 1/2 acre plot with 1/4 acre border. The homes are all within 15 acres. The rest is farms or left unbuilt.

brylie 5y ago

From the video, there are four on-site organic farms. Garden plots may not produce enough food to sustain the community. Also, it looks like there are natural open spaces preserved on some of the acreage.

smileysteve 5y ago
These suburb neighborhoods in America though use that extra 1/2 acre per family to support swim, tennis, playground, small football fields, community house. Anecdotally; the neighborhood of 400 houses, each on 1/2 acre,I reference was < 1 mile distance to an elementary, high school, chain grocery store, and local store fronts - and served 4 similar neighborhoods in 1 mile distance. Other "eco" features supported were 3 retention ponds and multiple streams. Was it eco? No. If everybody had a garden plot, and biked would it be more eco than this (1/2 to 1/3 the density) neighborhood selling itself as eco, probably

ericd 5y ago

If you watch the video, they mention that they left ~90% of it to nature, iirc, though I’m not sure if they include the farms in that. Does that clear it up?

smileysteve 5y ago
No, because for each 1/2 acre plot in an American suburb there is roughly 1/4 acre in borders. So if you average 4 person households, you need 60 houses to meet that 230 population on 30 acres that's ~82%+10% from the borders. To clarify, I'm not saying American suburbs are eco, or working communally like this; I'm only saying the numbers in the title (and 90% nature) don't seem to make this eco in a standout way moreso than a green space (or large community garden) next to a neighborhood.
- dkersten 5y ago
  The houses are close together "village-style". There's a part early on in the video where the lady compares the previous owners plans for building traditional suburbs to their own setup and how it differs. Each "neighborhood" is a tightly packed cluster of houses with pedestrian-only paths and 90% of the total land is not built on. Each neighborhood was said to be 5 acres, so x3 = 15 acres residential while 10% is 17.5 (so maybe the farm structures? Or maybe they're in the 90%, I'm unsure) The point is, the homes don't each have their own 1/2 acre plot with 1/4 acre border. The homes are all within 15 acres. The rest is farms or left unbuilt.