Health and wellness are major influences on new-build interior design, shaping everything from wellness kitchens to spa-like bathrooms. However, the growing popularity of agrihoods suggests that wellness is taking root across whole communities rather than just at home.
With agrihoods, the “whole idea is that the community is built around a working farm. Houses are built closely together, so there's more common space, and more places for people to meet their neighbors,” says Jay Maddock, a professor of public health at Texas A&M University.
There is typically a focus on nature, plus mixed-use amenities such as barbershops and restaurants so that residents can easily live a walkable lifestyle. Other features vary from community to community but might include things such as beekeeping areas, community pools, ponds, parks, greenhouses, and equestrian spaces.
Wellness isn't just a trend, but represents big business, says Steve Nygren, founder of Serenbe, an agrihood master-planned community outside of Atlanta. “Wellness real estate is the fastest growing segment of the real estate industry, both in the United States and globally.”
This may in part account for the rise in agrihood development. There are an estimated 200 agrihoods in the United States, located in at least 30 states, although many of them are centered in the south and the west.
For residents of agrihood communities, healthy food, exercise, and opportunities for social connectedness are literally outside their front door – an important distinction, because when it comes to adopting healthy habits, proximity and access are everything.
“We've known in public health for a long time that zip code is a better determinant of health than your genetic code,” says Maddock, noting that when the default choice is healthy, it’s easier for people to adopt lasting habits.
Meanwhile, a disconnect between food production and consumption persists, and may interfere with dietary choices. It’s estimated that in the United States, food travels 1500 miles from the farm to your plate, which has environmental implications, but also creates a mental gap.
“Forty percent of Americans have never met a farmer,” says Maddock. The hope is that agrihoods will re-enforce the farm-to-table connection.
The rise of agrihoods also demonstrates a shift in buyer preferences when it comes to neighborhood amenities, moving away from gated communities and golf courses, toward amenities that foster belonging and gathering, which are typically part of agrihood design: walking trails, inclusive parks, and communal areas designed for connection.
Do Agrihoods Influence Health Outcomes?
The theoretical tools are in place with agrihoods to improve health and wellness, but how effective are they when deployed in real-life scenarios?
That’s one of the questions Maddock and his team from Texas A&M hope to answer during their recently launched clinical trial.
The one-year study will center on Indigo, a 235-acre master-planned community just outside of Houston, that features a working farm and several other health-focused amenities, along with a catchy tagline: “Full-bellied living.”
Maddock and his team are following a group of residents who recently moved into Indigo and will compare biomarkers like blood pressure, cholesterol, and metabolic health indicators against area residents of a “traditional” non-agrihood master-planned community.
“We're looking at things at Indigo like, do people get more physical activity? Do they change their diet? Do they sleep better? Are they more socially connected with other people that live in the neighborhood? How do they interact with nature?” says Maddock.
Beyond measuring health benefits, the study will explore which agrihood amenities are most used, and most effective, which will be a helpful metric for developers to fine-tune future agrihoods to align with buyer preferences.
Maddock will also be looking at the impact of commuting on health outcomes. While agrihoods exist in urban locations, they are typically farther out of the city. For commuters, will a longer daily drive cancel out the benefits of having healthy amenities at home, from a time management standpoint?
Serenbe: An Agrihood Success Story
Established in the early 2000s, Serenbe is considered one of the original agrihoods in the United States and has been a blueprint to guide wellness development over the last couple of decades.
Residents of Serenbe, have had years to observe positive health benefits, of which there are many, according to Nygren, including better respiratory health, weight management, and stronger family ties for good mental health.
The community encompasses pillars that Nygren feels are essential to vitality: fresh food, art, education, and walkability, which are reflected in neighborhood amenities.
At the center of the community is a working farm, a staple for an agrihood community, but much of the overall design is more nuanced, in such a way that guides residents towards each other, to forge social connections and towards nature itself, for mind/body benefits.
‘It’s a clustered development so that you connect closely with each other. That includes front porches, pulled close to the street, and common mail areas, located near where people are going to gather for other reasons, whether it's a coffee shop, or a play area, or some other reason. And that gets people on the street,” says Nygren.
With walking trails, ponds, green space, water features and outdoor gathering spaces, “You're connecting to nature as much as possible,” Nygren says. “These are the two foundations for design: developing places where people naturally connect to one another and to nature."
The ratio of housing density versus a vast majority of protected green space within the neighborhood makes the development inherently sustainable, a planning tool that future developments can benefit from.
The Future of Agrihood Design
Part of the beauty of the agrihood is the back-to-the-land simplicity that comes from digging in the dirt, because homeowners become invested in the process, which Maddock hopes will have lasting effect.
“With the young families moving into agrihoods, we are hoping that they are more connected to the land, and maybe we will recruit some new farmers as these children grow up,” to fill a rapidly shrinking agricultural workforce, says Maddock.
Meanwhile, Nygren believes that generational preferences will influence agrihood development going forward.
Sustainability and wellness are known to guide purchasing decisions for millennials, who currently comprise the largest share of homebuyers in the United States.
As for Gen Z, Nygren anticipates wellness at home will be non-negotiable, aligning with their health-focused values. “As people under 30 enter the market as buyers, they aren’t going to accept places that are not healthy and sustainable.”
