Tsawassen, Vancouver has been a farming community for generations, but when suburban housing developments started cropping up, the Century Group development company was torn on how to best use the 500 acres of land it owned in the area. They came to the conclusion to use the land for an innovative new type of community in which residents were interconnected with the food they ate from local farming. 

Called Southlands, the newly developed community intertwines farming and living. It has room for 950 homes and a 325-acre farm which are connected via a central market square. In this model, the community is fed with locally-grown produce and residents are more in touch with their food systems. 

The first 75 homes in the community and residents are beginning to move in. The proximity of homes and farms makes local food not only sustainable but economically viable as well. Residents have access to fruits and vegetables grown practically in their backyard at an affordable price point. 

Locally grown food is fresher, takes less of a toll on the environment, and allows people to support local farmers within their community every time they cook a meal. This innovative concept of interconnecting residential space with farmland not only makes eating locally feasible, but it also brings daily awareness into the role that farming plays in our lives and the importance of supporting local sustainable food systems. 

Image source: Southlands