For years, envisioning the “American dream” was centered around a family’s house, surrounded by a white picket fence and usually inhabited by a nuclear family. However, as people have begun to think more globally about the environment and their living style, the American dream has shifted to include one’s community and its relationship with nature. This has helpd spur the rise of “green communities,” which design and create neighborhoods and communities that aim to be amicable rather than threatening to the natural environment.
Still, “green communities” or eco-friendly communities is an ambiguous term that is as diverse as the natural wildlife it seeks to protect. Some design envision these types of communities as ways to help its residents reconnect with a natural world that is usually lost with suburbanization. Drawing on ideas of ecotourism, these associations incorporate wildlife preserves and habitat restorations into their overall plan, allowing residents to both live comfortably in and closely with natural settings.
Others have been less “conservation” focused and more centered on issues like sustainability and minimizing the “footprint” they leave on the global environment. These communities tend to pursue minimalist living spaces that meet new environmental standards like LEED. They are not necessarily physically close to natural habitats–in fact, they might resemble the apartment-based, city lifestyle that has always seemed seperated from wilderness–but these residents aim to protect wildlife by living smaller themselves.
For those that want to think globally but live locally, green and eco-friendly communities offer a unique alternative to the traditional domestic dreams Americans have held for so long.