Sustainable communities are the new saviors of the environment, community health and economic prosperity. The designation and promotion of these beneficial areas are the keystones of progressive cities everywhere.

Green neighborhoods balance nature, the community and co-operative living benefiting everyone from large cities to rural towns. These neighborhoods incorporate concepts ranging from new urbanism and village homes, to co-housing and retirement communities.

Sustainable Community: Definition and Principals

Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work. These communities are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. Safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, they offer equality of opportunity and good services for all.

Smart Growth

Smart growth integrates mixed-use development and economic viability, demonstrating how "re-modeling" towns is more economically and environmentally feasible than uncontrolled, big/box-business and sprawling neighborhood directives. Smart Growth focuses on community design, easing of traffic congestion, integration of cultures, job creation, community service promotion, crime reduction and overall production of a healthier environment and economy.

What Green Can Do For You

Businesses which demonstrate care for the environment and society, attract locals and visitors who practice conscious consumerism. The benefits of having sustainable communities throughout the Sierras and Northern Nevada include healthier neighborhoods, businesses, services, schools, and eco-systems. In towns such as Sundance where growth has been limited and businesses are fully local, the salubrious economy is booming.

Big Business Religion

It is a false belief that if we take more our economy will improve. With the understanding that we live within one of the most majestic locales on Earth, and attract visitors who choose to come here despite the aforementioned, we will start to work on the promotion of or region as what it is; a gorgeous anomaly and place of inherent beauty, unparalleled in technological potential and outdoor enterprises.

Sustainable Returns

Sustainable Communities are not designed to halt businesses, they are designed to enhance them. Creating a transportation-friendly community with locally-owned shops and a green community center will be far more economically, environmentally, and socially beneficial than resort/timeshare high-rises and box-stores. Sustainable thought will create sustainable enterprise.

Learn more:

Books

-- "The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns can Change to Sustainable Practices" by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti: www.newsociety.com

-- "Smart Growth Tool Kit: Community Profiles and Case Studies to Advance Smart Growth Practices" by David O'Neill

-- "Making Smart Growth Work" by Douglas Porter

Magazines

-- Eco-Structure Magazine