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Finding Your Farm: How to get started in small-scale development
Posted on Feb 12, 2026
by Kip Santos |
Last updated on Feb 17, 2026
Whether you’re a seasoned urbanist or a relatively new urbanist, you may have heard the terms “small-scale development” or “incremental housing”, but have wondered what it is or how to get started. I’ve been following three leaders in the field of urban-friendly development and I’m impressed with how they concisely explain their initiatives. For example, have you heard the catchy phrases, “find your farm” or “unleash the swarm”? After many years receiving lots of guidance entering the world of small-scale development, I too, hope to offer a few tidbits that can help others forge their own unique path to action - even if you are limited by physical location, cash flow, professional network, or phase of life.
Organizations that Support Small-Scale Developers like You and Me
Before I Begin My Own Analysis, I Want To Introduce You To Some Notable Non-profit Organizations That Complement And Contribute To ST’s Pro-housing Campaign, In Particular
Emerging New Urbanists (ENU) is allied with many urbanist organizations, including Strong Towns (ST), the non-profit urban advocacy organization that has now reached a worldwide audience with thousands of followers and changemakers from its home base in North America. I’m a huge supporter of ST’s 5 core campaigns, but I particularly support their Incremental Housing core campaign, especially in existing, walkable neighborhoods:
One of the main points that leaders from both IncDev and NEVO emphasize when starting your small-scale developer journey is to “find your farm”, a term coined by Monte Anderson and Jim Kumon of NEVO. Much to the confusion of my mom and others, the phrase is a bit of a misnomer because it doesn’t literally mean searching for farmland, looking for viable agricultural plots, or joining farm-centric agrihood communities. The phrase “find your farm” essentially means committing your time, money, and resources to a specific place (street, neighborhood, town, or city) for the long-term (many years) and investing in its growth at a super local level. I stay up-to-date with IncDev faculty who host office hours and IncDev alumni who provide valuable insights, tips, links, and personal connections. One such IncDev faculty member is a super driven small-scale developer, builder, and entrepreneur based in Portland, OR named Neil Heller, Principal at Neighborhood Workshop.
Summary
In November 2025, Neil posted a very insightful summary in the IncDev alumni Slack channel about his personal experience finding his farm, stating:
What’s Holding Small-Scale Developers Back?
I thoroughly enjoyed this post by Neil and it resonated with me because the “find your farm” advice is simple, but the “find” part does matter a lot and is not easy in reality. Survivor bias (ie. “If I can do it, anyone can”) prevails for those lucky enough to have already found their farm. So I, like many other young, budding small-scale developers, want to join the growing number of small-scale developers and help build more housing units in our neighborhoods as quickly as possible, but we have not found our farm yet. Neil is absolutely correct that land and acquisitions are expensive and risky, especially for fellow small-scale developers that are still relocating around the continent every few years for jobs, partners, climate, scenery, lifestyle, etc.
The Charts Above (clearer Slides Here, With Sources In Slide Notes) Show Various Examples Of Ways That Small-scale Developers Can Start Joining The Movement, Even If You Are
I would relish the opportunity to help ST, IncDev, and NEVO provide more support to those small-scale developers still in the “farm-finding” phase because urbanist vagabonds like myself, and the entire small-scale development movement, need all the help we can get. Our continent-wide housing shortage depends on it. Keeping this article short, I’ve simplified all my learning into a chart to help other budding small-scale developers in the same life stage as me
Posted on Feb 12, 2026
by Kip Santos |
Last updated on Feb 17, 2026
Whether you’re a seasoned urbanist or a relatively new urbanist, you may have heard the terms “small-scale development” or “incremental housing”, but have wondered what it is or how to get started. I’ve been following three leaders in the field of urban-friendly development and I’m impressed with how they concisely explain their initiatives. For example, have you heard the catchy phrases, “find your farm” or “unleash the swarm”? After many years receiving lots of guidance entering the world of small-scale development, I too, hope to offer a few tidbits that can help others forge their own unique path to action - even if you are limited by physical location, cash flow, professional network, or phase of life.
Organizations that Support Small-Scale Developers like You and Me
Before I Begin My Own Analysis, I Want To Introduce You To Some Notable Non-profit Organizations That Complement And Contribute To ST’s Pro-housing Campaign, In Particular
Emerging New Urbanists (ENU) is allied with many urbanist organizations, including Strong Towns (ST), the non-profit urban advocacy organization that has now reached a worldwide audience with thousands of followers and changemakers from its home base in North America. I’m a huge supporter of ST’s 5 core campaigns, but I particularly support their Incremental Housing core campaign, especially in existing, walkable neighborhoods:
- Incremental Development Alliance (IncDev) is an advocacy organization that trains, promotes, and empowers citizens of all levels to start building and renovating housing units in their local communities. They offer their free teaser training via the ST Academy.
- Neighborhood Evolution (NEVO) is a development consulting group deeply committed to giving local citizens the tools, knowledge, networking, and confidence needed to take action and revitalize their communities. They also offer their 12 Steps to Town Making training course via the ST Academy.
One of the main points that leaders from both IncDev and NEVO emphasize when starting your small-scale developer journey is to “find your farm”, a term coined by Monte Anderson and Jim Kumon of NEVO. Much to the confusion of my mom and others, the phrase is a bit of a misnomer because it doesn’t literally mean searching for farmland, looking for viable agricultural plots, or joining farm-centric agrihood communities. The phrase “find your farm” essentially means committing your time, money, and resources to a specific place (street, neighborhood, town, or city) for the long-term (many years) and investing in its growth at a super local level. I stay up-to-date with IncDev faculty who host office hours and IncDev alumni who provide valuable insights, tips, links, and personal connections. One such IncDev faculty member is a super driven small-scale developer, builder, and entrepreneur based in Portland, OR named Neil Heller, Principal at Neighborhood Workshop.
Summary
In November 2025, Neil posted a very insightful summary in the IncDev alumni Slack channel about his personal experience finding his farm, stating:
What’s Holding Small-Scale Developers Back?
I thoroughly enjoyed this post by Neil and it resonated with me because the “find your farm” advice is simple, but the “find” part does matter a lot and is not easy in reality. Survivor bias (ie. “If I can do it, anyone can”) prevails for those lucky enough to have already found their farm. So I, like many other young, budding small-scale developers, want to join the growing number of small-scale developers and help build more housing units in our neighborhoods as quickly as possible, but we have not found our farm yet. Neil is absolutely correct that land and acquisitions are expensive and risky, especially for fellow small-scale developers that are still relocating around the continent every few years for jobs, partners, climate, scenery, lifestyle, etc.
The Charts Above (clearer Slides Here, With Sources In Slide Notes) Show Various Examples Of Ways That Small-scale Developers Can Start Joining The Movement, Even If You Are
I would relish the opportunity to help ST, IncDev, and NEVO provide more support to those small-scale developers still in the “farm-finding” phase because urbanist vagabonds like myself, and the entire small-scale development movement, need all the help we can get. Our continent-wide housing shortage depends on it. Keeping this article short, I’ve simplified all my learning into a chart to help other budding small-scale developers in the same life stage as me