What happens when farmers, officials, residents and project developers meet on a farm in Oosterwold?

In Almere Oosterwold, a bold and unique experiment in urban development is unfolding. In the coming years, 18,000 new homes will be built, expanding the city by nearly 20 percent. But Oosterwold is more than just a new suburb. It's a patchwork of self-built homes, mandatory urban agriculture (50 percent of each plot must be food-producing), and larger development projects. The area is a living laboratory, a source of inspiration for future-proof urban development throughout the Netherlands.

With approximately 2,000 homes already under construction, the seeds of a new way of life have been planted. But without acceleration, Oosterwold's promise risks being only partially realized.

To help accelerate progress, I joined forces with Oosterwold resident Karim Maarek and The Turn Club, an artist collective founded by Merlijn Twaalfhoven, to organize a unique event and process: Oosterwold in Overvloed – an area workshop for residents, civil servants, policymakers, initiators, and developers to explore new forms of collaboration and accelerate major transitions.

A stable full of ideas

On June 27th, about 40 people gathered in the barn of Stadsboerderij Almere Vliervelden. For one day, this urban farm transformed into a place of experience, art, dialogue, and connection.

From this fertile soil grew several inspiring ideas:

🌱 Oosterwold Regional Cooperative: To break the often paralyzing impasse between government and initiators, participants proposed a new cooperative model. This allows all stakeholders in the area, including residents, farmers, government officials, and developers, to jointly initiate and implement projects as equal partners.

🏡 The farm as commons: Diana van Veelen of Burgerboerderij Oosterwold made a powerful plea: let the urban farm be steward-owned. So, not privately owned, but collectively managed. Her call gave ownership in the area a new meaning, one that can serve both the community and the land in the long term.

🚲 Regenerative inspiration tours: Only a few government representatives were present, but they left energized by the creativity and grassroots initiative in the room. Their idea: organize regular tours of regenerative projects, so systems thinkers can leave their offices and reconnect with the places where real innovation happens.

💧 Water Workshop: The current water policy uses a single water level for the entire Oosterwold area. This is unsustainable and fails to address local differences or future water scarcity. A new idea emerged from the municipality of Almere: organizing micro-level water dialogues with farmers and residents to jointly design smarter and more decentralized solutions.

🔗 A closing remark from the province: Sjaak Simonse, deputy of the Province of Flevoland, concluded the day with words of admiration. He praised the region's "power to manifest" and issued a clear invitation to further develop and scale up this initiative.

Just the beginning

Oosterwold in Overvloed was a day filled with inspiration, connection, and a shared sense of possibility. It demonstrated what can happen when we break down barriers between sectors and bring farmers, government officials, residents, and developers together—not just to talk, but to dream, imagine, and build.

And this was just the beginning. After the summer, we'll be back with more voices, more ideas, and the next step toward a regenerative future in Oosterwold.