Rijnvliet Urban Food Forest and Edible Neighborhood
community initiative
Rijnvliet is a new residential area in the Dutch city of Utrecht, developed in 2022. With the aim of creating a healthy future for the city, the municipality collaborated with new residents to envision the concept of an urban food forest and edible neighborhood, where all greenery is edible by humans and / or animals.
The masterplan layout is based on principles of food forestry and developed in collaboration with the Rijnvliet residents and Æ – Food Forestry Development. The public spaces were designed by the Landscape Architecture studio Felixx.
layers of vegetation
Today, the public space of Rijnvliet consists of a 37 acre (15 hectare) green space with more than a thousand fruit trees and 220 different sub-species of edible plants, herbs & shrubs.
These spaces are comprised of seven layers of vegetation that support one another:
1. Canopy layer, comprised of original and planted large trees
2. Low tree layer
3. Shrub layer, comprised of fruit and berry bushes
4. Herb and vegetable layer
5. Soil layer
6. Underground layer, comprised of plants that produce roots or tubers
7. Climbers, a vertical layer of climbing plants
social cohesion
The productive landscape of Rijnvliet fosters social cohesion within the community. Maintaining the food forest requires coordinated efforts from residents, ensuring continuous evolution of its educational, recreational, and natural qualities.
“It was an honor to plant fruit trees together with the children of Rijnvliet. They are the most important farmers of the food forest and key to the success of Rijnvliet, Edible Neighborhood.”- Klaas Verschuure (Alderman)
