A town in the Netherlands will not let you live there unless you grow food on 50% of your land
The town of Oosterworld in the Netherlands requires residents to dedicate 50% of their land to urban farming as part of a unique sustainable living experiment. The project aims to challenge traditional Dutch urban planning by giving citizens more control over their environment while maintaining a specific rural-to-construction ratio.
Why it matters
It represents a radical approach to sustainable urban development that prioritizes food security and environmental integration over traditional high-density housing.
If you are not ready to get your hands dirty in the soil or spend time in nature, then moving to this town in the Netherlands will not be possible for you. In the country where urban planning is considered almost "too perfect," there is a new town Oosterworld built entirely on reclaimed land.Here, nature and living, working and leisure are combined in a low density as a balance act against the more urban west of the city. Oosterworld is a 4,300 hectare urban experiment located east of Amsterdam, in the suburban city of Almere. First visualised about a decade ago by a local network, it was established by local government and Oosterwold planners as a way to challenge the rigidity of Dutch city planning, giving people more freedom, and responsibility, over the urban design process.
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