A residential development in Augusta Township, Ontario, an hour from Toronto, offers residents … [+]
Community farming, farm to table, farmers markets, clean labeling. These terms are all increasingly popular additions to the modern American vernacular.
Their emergence has much to do with the growing preference for fresh foods untainted by excessive processing and the addition of unhealthy levels of sodium and sugar, not to mention multisyllabic ingredients more suited to a chemistry lab than the kitchen of a housewife.
While many seek to reconnect food preparation and their original natural sources, others are discovering that it is also possible for rural neighborhoods to forge a firmer, more direct connection with nature, locally grown food sources and active outdoor lifestyles. In Ontario, Canada, three residential communities are unveiling designs that invite newcomers – many of whom are tired of big city life – to return to the land that supported countless previous generations of rural families. Moreover, they do it in a serious, targeted and consistent manner.
CABN, Augusta Township
B+H Architects and Canadian residential technology company CABN are the driving forces behind a new 67-unit, net-zero, off-grid community in Augusta Township, an hour from Toronto. The architects let nature dictate the design process and determine where homes and amenities would be placed. Old-growth forests and wetlands remain intact and homes are built only on land already affected by agriculture. The harvested water, food and compost are fed back into the community’s self-sufficiency system.
“We are moving beyond the long-standing divide between ‘human’ and ‘natural’ systems and instead recognizing that humans are an essential part of our natural environment,” says Jamie Miller, B+H’s director of biomimicry. “This artificial distinction has had profound ramifications on our conventional development, and together with Augusta Township, we have planned and designed this site so that human activity contributes positively to the ecological function of the place as a whole. “
Thornbury Acres
Thornbury Acres, two hours north of Toronto, offers families the opportunity to benefit from affordable and sustainable housing. … [+]
It is a 152-acre residential agricultural cooperative located in the town of Blue Mountains, Ontario, about two hours north of Toronto. Developer Castlepoint Numa, a company eager to return the area to its agricultural roots, proposes a simple principle.
Thornbury Acres will provide families with a fulfilling and sustainable agricultural lifestyle, as well as resources, land and expertise, while preserving the region’s storied agricultural heritage. The development offers 37 properties, with 800 square foot plots that each household can own and manage. They also share financial responsibility for the maintenance and production of Thornbury Acres’ common assets, including a community barn and additional crops.
“Now more than ever, people are educating themselves and making informed decisions about where their food comes from,” reports Harley Valentine, Partner at Castlepoint Numa. “We go a step further by giving families the opportunity to become stewards of the land and take control of their food consumption cycle through a well-supported cooperative lifestyle. [It’s] a precedent-setting model for human-scale regenerative agriculture in rural areas moving away from large-scale commercial agriculture.
Craigleith Ridge
Also in Blue Mountains, Craigleith Ridge is a new townhome development located between Georgian Bay and the Blue Mountains, placing residents within walking distance of Blue Mountain Village and Bay Beach. Created by SvN Architects + Planners and Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities, Craigleith Ridge is a development defined by protected archaeological sites and dramatic topography, with natural waterways running through the land.
Environmental protection areas have preserved both wildlife and large numbers of mature butternut trees along the Nipissing Ridge which runs through the site. The archaeological areas were surveyed with the assistance of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.
“Each unit will be unique within the Craigleith and Blue Mountain communities and will reinforce the development’s broader goals of connecting the community to nature,” says Drew Sinclair, partner at SvN Architects + Planners. “Our design even aims to celebrate archaeological areas both through diligent protection of this cultural heritage as well as interpretive signs and other educational design elements. This ensures that we are designing a space that honors the land and welcomes new community members to the Town of Blue Mountain.