An agrihood is a type of planned community that integrates agriculture into a residential neighborhood. The purpose is to facilitate food production as well as provide green space, recreation, aesthetics and value for a community.[1]
The earliest[3] use of the term "agri-hood" was back in 2009 by Dr Alec Thornton, in a journal article “Garden of Eden? The impact of resettlement on squatters' 'agri-hoods' in Fiji,”, which explores the rise of food gardens in low-income settlements in Fiji. In 2014, "agrihood" was adopted by Southern California-based development company Rancho Mission Viejo LLC as a marketing trademark to target affluent millennials who wanted housing closer to fresh food.[4][5][6][7]
Agrihoods are based around the concept of integrating farms and gardens into neighborhoods, allowing for the development of residential neighborhoods that have a rural feel.[1] Integrating agriculture into neighborhoods also allows for communities to supply themselves with locally produced food.
Real estate developers may find that introducing agriculture to their planned communities has a lower initial cost than typically offered amenities such as golf courses or swimming pools, and sets the development apart from the competition.[8][9] However, developers have also discovered that running an agricultural project is not necessarily easy, inexpensive or risk-free. The best results have come from hiring agricultural staff to run the operations, rather than allowing residents free-access and free-roam of the operation.[10][8]
^Thornton, A. (2009). Garden of Eden? The impact of resettlement on squatters’ ‘agri-hoods’ in Fiji. Development in Practice, 19(7), 884–894. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614520903122311
