Developing Climate Change Positive Communities
Path to Zero host Tucker Perkins welcomes the partners behind an initiative to develop sustainable, planned villages capable of reducing the carbon footprint of a community by 10 times.
Patrick Van Haren and Karin Aston are the co-founders of Citadels, a new generation development company combining traditional neighborhood design with regenerative agriculture, to create distinctive master planned communities.
show notes
Citadels are real places that were common back in the times before automobiles. They fell out of favor because cars needed more space, wider roads.
“Aerial view of Neuf-Brisach, Northeastern France” courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The photo above is of the town Neuf-Brisach, built in 1700 in northeastern France. The urban features comprise approximately 80 acres, while the outlying natural areas are about 240 acres. This represents a 3:1 ratio of nature to town.
Van Haren and Aston propose new Citadels built on a similar plan, except that the fortifications around the perimeter will constitute a regenerative agriculture farm that produces food for residents and buffers the town from extreme weather events such as flooding, drought and wildfire.
According to the Urban Land Institute, the United States has about 200 Agrihoods, an organized community that integrates agriculture into a residential neighborhood. Citadels takes Agrihoods a step further to make sure farmers have a sustainable lifestyle and income, as well as incorporating renewable energy and water systems to establish self-sustaining, walkable communities.
Tucker talks to Patrick and Karin about this new community model that rebuilds economies and ecosystems together.
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