The Fancy Neighborhood of the Future Is an Earth-Friendly ‘Intentional Community’

On a mild autumn Saturday, I join a group of prospective homeowners for a walking tour of Serenbe, a 1,400-acre community of 700-plus residents in Chattahoochie Hills, Ga., about a half-hour southwest of downtown Atlanta. We meet our guide, Steve Nygren, at Serenbe’s organic farmers market, which comprises about a dozen stands tucked into an opening in the woods.

Nygren, who’s also the enclave’s founder, is a lean, sprightly man in his early 70s with a thick shock of pure, white hair. He opens on a philosophical note: Most intentional communities—carefully planned residential networks designed with social cohesion in mind—“are built upon a specific social, political, or spiritual belief,” he says.