Why We're Building NeighbourWood
People often ask us: why Ireland? Why woodland communities? And why on earth would you move your family across an ocean to start a housing company?
The answer isn’t complicated. We’re building the kind of community we want to live in—and we’re proving our conviction by living in it ourselves.
The Spark
I’ve spent thirty years in climate and sustainability—co-founding the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), helping launch 500+ companies, helping to facilitate over a billion dollars in funding. I’ve seen countless pitches for technologies that would “change everything.” Some did. Most didn’t.
What I observed, again and again, is that the best solutions work because they align incentives. They make doing the right thing also the profitable thing. They don’t require people to sacrifice—they offer something better.
Housing is the ultimate test of this principle.
Everyone needs a home. And the way we build homes has massive environmental impact: the materials, the energy use, the land footprint, the transportation patterns they create. But telling people to live in smaller spaces, or pay more for less comfort, has never worked. The math has to add up.
That’s what we’ve designed NeighbourWood to do.
Why Ireland
Several factors drew us to Ireland specifically:
A housing crisis that needs new solutions. Ireland needs 35,000+ homes per year and consistently builds far fewer. The shortage is severe, and conventional approaches aren’t solving it.
A climate action commitment. Ireland has binding emissions reduction targets and growing policy support for sustainable development. The regulatory environment is moving in our direction.
Native woodland restoration potential. Ireland is one of the least forested countries in Europe, with only about 11% tree cover (and much of that is non-native plantation). The opportunity to restore native ecosystems is immense.
Planning and legal frameworks. While challenging, Ireland’s planning system allows for the kind of integrated development we’re pursuing. The legal structures for permanent land protection exist.
Quality of life. We wanted to raise our family somewhere with strong community values, good education, and genuine connection to nature. Ireland offers all of that.
The 50/50 Idea
The core insight is simple: what if every home came with permanent woodland?
Not a token green space that gets sold off in ten years. Not a developer’s promise that evaporates after handover. Permanent, native, professionally-managed woodland held in trust forever.
Half the land for homes. Half for forest. The woodland provides amenity value for residents, habitat for wildlife, carbon sequestration for the climate, and ongoing revenue through environmental credits. The homes provide profit for development and fees for perpetual stewardship.
Each part makes the other possible. The woodland isn’t a cost center to be minimized—it’s a value generator that makes the community special.
The Commitment
Here’s where we’re different from most developers: we’re buying a home in our first development. At full market price. And living in it with our family.
Why does this matter?
Because it eliminates the credibility gap. We’re not building something for other people while we live somewhere else. We’re building our home. Our community. The place we’ll raise our children and welcome our neighbors.
Every decision we make—the quality of construction, the covenant structures, the fee levels, the woodland management—affects us directly. We have complete alignment with our future residents because we’re one of them.
This isn’t a marketing gimmick. It’s €200,000+ of our own capital at risk. It’s uprooting our family from Los Angeles to Dublin. It’s betting everything on this working.
If that’s not conviction, I don’t know what is.
What Success Looks Like
In twenty-four months, we want to be living in a completed home surrounded by newly-planted native woodland. We want neighbors who chose this community for the same reasons we did. We want verified data showing our homes produce more energy than they consume. We want third-party confirmation that our woodlands are sequestering carbon and supporting biodiversity.
And we want to be planning the next community—and the one after that—with councils and partners who’ve seen our model work firsthand.
Beyond that, we see NeighbourWood becoming a platform. Our “N-OS” (NeighbourWood Operating System) packages everything we’ve learned into a licensable model. Other developers, housing associations, and councils across the UK and EU can replicate what we’ve built. The UK Biodiversity Net Gain mandate alone creates enormous demand for integrated housing-woodland approaches.
Our goal isn’t just to build one great community. It’s to prove a model that can scale across Europe.
An Invitation
If you’re reading this, you might be someone who shares our vision. Maybe you’re looking for a home that reflects your values. Maybe you’re an investor seeking climate infrastructure opportunities. Maybe you’re a council housing officer wondering if there’s a better way. Maybe you’re a potential partner who could help us build.
Whatever brought you here, we’d love to hear from you.
This is our life’s work. We’re building it with everything we have. And we believe it can help solve two of the defining challenges of our time: the housing crisis and the climate crisis, together.
Half homes. Half forest. Forever.
That’s the future we’re building. Come join us.
Neal Anderson is CEO and Co-Founder of NeighbourWood Communities. He and his wife Esther are relocating from Los Angeles to Ireland to build and live in the first NeighbourWood development.
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