Bloomberg CityLab

The Seductive Power of a Suburban Utopia

Serenbe, an intentional community outside Atlanta, promises urban pleasures without the messiness of city life.

Bloomberg CityLab

The Seductive Power of a Suburban Utopia

Serenbe, an intentional community outside Atlanta, promises urban pleasures without the messiness of city life.

By Mimi Kirk

On a recent drizzly morning, I tromped through pine needles and mud past a couple of glowering llamas and through a wildflower meadow until reaching Selborne, one of three neighborhoods in Serenbe, a 1,000-acre intentional community southwest of Atlanta. Around 600 people live in Serenbe’s 350 homes, and plans are afoot for many more.