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Green living is no longer a vague term known only by environmentalists. One of the ways we know that an important social trend has hit the big time is when major consumer providers adopt the term. Just about every major influencer in our society from Walmart to national broadcasting networks, are using the term to promote products & attract audiences. Green living is a welcome lifestyle that individuals, families & companies are choosing to ensure that the things they do & the products they use have as little an impact on the environment as possible. One of the best ways that you can build this thinking into your lifestyle is to live in a community that subscribes to green living.

If you’re among the population of people who live a green lifestyle as a member of a rural community, you’re in a good position. I would suggest, how ever, that you think about ways you can support a lifestyle movement that seeks to protect rural areas of our country (like your community), by making the more urban areas more livable, sustainable & green. This movement is here & it’s strong & it’s called new urbanism. New urbanism is a movement affecting areas where most of us live, including those in the suburbs & city centers.

One of the key threats to our beautiful rural areas & farming communities is the spread of urban development. New urbanism seeks to contain that spread by encouraging the development of communities that can accommodate more people. I am not talking about increased high rises & ugly housing complexes. I am referring to the development of lovely & affordable urban houses, town homes & condos/apartments that reflect the beautiful architecture & completely unique detail of those neighborhoods that were created in America before World War II.

New urbanism neighborhoods are found in newly built developments & renovated communities both in the suburbs & older city centers. This new mindset has taken almost twenty years to take root in our national psyche. It’s at its essence a straightforward, fundamental focus on changing where we live to improve our quality of life. We are tired of choosing or rating successful neighborhoods based closely on the largeness of the yard or house. Life is much more than that.

In the new urbanism mind set, quality of life is defined by how our environments affect our emotions & our ability to live a life according to sustainable, healthy values & core life priorities. New urbanists believe that if we can develop more communities that make it’s easy to enjoy green living, working & socializing right in our own neighborhood we can make a positive impact on our environments.

Benefits of New urbanism communities:

?New urbanism will contribute to less vehicular pollution by making it easier for people to find employment close to where they live or to establish their own businesses at or close to home. New urbanism communities, because of their location near or close to population centers, have the technological & business resources to support entrepreneurs & a wide range of businesses.

?Communities that subscribe to new urbanism principles attract residents who want to live a green lifestyle so it will make it easier for you or your family to adopt green lifestyle practices.

?The greenbelts surrounding your city or suburban area will be better protected if new urbanism communities in your region thrive since new urbanism encourages home buyers & renters to select existing urban centers over new developments on large lots in shrinking rural regions.

New urbanism gives the structure needed to influence the largest percentage of our populations in North America & around the world. For lots more information on how you can lead the change in your community or if you are planning to make a move to a new urbanism community, please visit http://www.newurbanmom.com.

Sharon McMillan is a writer & advocate for the healthy ‘new urbanist’ lifestyle. She’s a suburban mom of two who has developed a career around marketing & promoting healthy productive communities for families & businesses. If you have comments or questions please visit http://www.newurbanmom.com or contact Sharon directly at sharon@newurbanmom.com .

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