When we started Beforest, a simple description of what we wanted to do was create a food, water and power secure sustainable landscape. This was before we realised we were participating in the jargon wars taking place in the real estate sector (we hate identifying ourselves with this space but unfortunately, are often generalized into it). 

A home doesn’t function in isolation. It needs infrastructure like access roads, water line, electric line, sewage line, recycling mechanisms, solid waste management mechanisms, broadband cabling etc. Cutting out farm plots implies spreading this infrastructure all over the landscape for each house. This is far more devastating to the landscape than it seems.