Growing Your Own in the Netherlands

Lessons Learned and Future Opportunities

While the climate crisis poses challenges, it also provides opportunities for growing certain crops, such as avocados and citrus trees. Experts highlight the potential for replicability in other places, prioritizing agriculture as a land use to reconfigure peri-urban spaces into vibrant areas that advance ecological, social, and economic goals.

Challenges and Considerations

A 2024 study found that carbon emissions from urban agriculture can be higher than from conventional agriculture. To mitigate this, it is suggested to prioritize long-term use of infrastructure, finding reclaimed or reused materials for initial construction, and starting small with easy-to-grow crops.

Conclusion

Oosterwold serves as an example of a community where residents take responsibility for their own food production, promoting self-sufficiency and creativity. The lessons learned from this experiment can be applied to other projects, highlighting the importance of prioritizing agriculture in urban planning.

Unique Urban Agriculture Experiment

Oosterwold is a 4,300-hectare urban experiment located in the north-east of the Netherlands. It was established as a way to challenge the rigidity of Dutch city planning and give people more freedom and responsibility over the urban design process.

Key Features

• Residents must collaborate with others to figure out things such as street names, waste management, roads, and even schools.

• The local government has included one extremely unusual requirement: about half of each plot must be devoted to urban agriculture.

• Residents can build houses however they like.

• The area is completely self-sufficient.

Resident Perspectives

Marco de Kat, a resident since 2017, says that he doesn’t need to travel far for fresh food. Right outside his house is an 800 square meter plot with all sorts of produce. He and his wife can pretty much survive off the vegetables stored in their freezer during the winter months.

Jan-Albert Blaauw, a resident and founder of the city’s food cooperative, believes that some of the things done in Oosterwold could be implemented in other places in the Netherlands and beyond.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Residents worry about the fact there is no real guidance about how to make your plot successful. A new centre called the Food Hub has now opened, devoted to collecting and processing food as well as knowledge sharing.

Jason Hawes co-authored a 2024 study that found carbon emissions from urban agriculture can be higher than from conventional agriculture. He suggests prioritizing long-term use of infrastructure and finding reclaimed or reused materials to support the initial construction.

Ambitious Goal

The eventual goal is to provide 10% of Almere’s food, which many see as ambitious but hopefully doable in time.

Start Small

Bekkour says that it doesn’t necessarily have to start on as large a scale as Oosterwold did. “The first thing I tell people is to start small,” she says. “Start with the things you love to eat and the easy stuff.”

Located in the north-east of the Netherlands, Oosterwold is a 4,300-hectare urban experiment that challenges traditional city planning. The suburb has about 5,000 residents and a growing waiting list.

Unique Requirement: Urban Agriculture

The local government has included an unusual requirement: each plot must have at least half devoted to urban agriculture. Residents can build houses however they like, but must collaborate with others on aspects such as street names, waste management, roads, and schools.

Residents’ Creative Approaches

Residents of Oosterwold find creative ways to fulfill the unique stipulation. Some have turned their gardens into an “Eden” to provide for their household unit, while others plant a few apple trees or outsource by owning plots tended to by professional farmers.

Examples of Successful Urban Agriculture

• Marco de Kat, a resident since 2017, has an 800 square meter plot with various produce, allowing him and his wife to survive off the vegetables stored in their freezer during winter months.

• Jalil Bekkour opened his own restaurant, Atelier Feddan, where 80% of the food is directly from Oosterwold. He uses his garden as a “field lab” to develop products for the restaurant.