Eco Communities

From LoveToKnow GreenLiving

Finding eco communities is easier today than ever before for more than one reason. First, more people in the United States are taking action to preserve green space in order to make a better world for future generations, and second the Internet makes finding the right community a more real possibility just by clicking on the state where you want to live.

What Eco Communities Provide

Eco communities, which are also known as green communities, are designed to partner the homeowner with other like minded individuals who keep the entire community in mind. Not to be confused with the more complex eco village, an eco community develops around just one thing, the preservation of valuable green space. It's like living in an old-fashioned neighborhood where everyone knows their neighbors, but where sustainable living and the desire to preserve undeveloped land is a common passion.

How Eco Communities Start

An eco community usually begins with a small core of people but can also begin with an environmentally oriented landowner or developer who wants to attract a group of people with the desire to help save a large percentage of the undeveloped land. This usually includes a parcel of land that's too large for even several families pooling their money together to own.

The Green Space Goal

Remember that the goal of eco communities is to preserve green space. This requires planning by the group of individuals who will make up the community. This arrangement is also known as co-housing. The key is that everyone agrees housing will be limited to only those structures that are needed and the majority of the land is saved from development. This united effort keeps the resulting carbon footprint relatively small but brings in enough money so that the project costs will be covered. Depending on what community residents agree upon, the remaining green space can be retired and left to revert back to nature or it can be used for green friendly ventures such as:

Growing organic produce
Raise grass-fed livestock
Wildlife preserve

Building a Community

Community is more than buildings and owning land. It's the coming together of people. Unlike many traditional urban settings today where people wave to their neighbors but don't really know them, a green community requires the people who live there to have a common goal before they buy, and to make an eco community work, it's important that the families who make up the community are like-minded. For example, you wouldn't want two vegetarian families unhappy with another family's plans to raise grass-fed beef.

When you boil it down to the basics, eco communities really serve two purposes. As stated above, the first is to save land that would be scooped up for residential development. The second is to enter into the plan with like-minded people. To be able to do this, you'll have to know them.

Where to Find Like Minded People

It all sounds good doesn't it? But what if you're the odd man out among your friends and no one else really has the burning passion to preserve undeveloped land like you do? Don't fret. The Internet is a great place to network with like-minded individuals and to learn about potential possibilities for green communities that are popping up across the United States. Green Eco Communities provides a handy map of the U.S. All you have to do is click on the state that interest you to learn about possible resources such as green builders and existing and planned communities to help get you started.