MAIN Society Go Green Guides Green Cities & Communities

As new and advanced housing technologies have become available, the very idea of what a house or a building complex is has begun to change.

Today, a house or building can regulate its own temperature, recycle waste, provide alternative energy, and even produce food and water. This kind of house is not just a roof to live under, it's an entire ecosystem that can support all aspects of human life.

The implementation of this ideal is still fairly rare, but there are many housing developments of varying size that are heading in this direction.

Sustaining the world one community at a time

An excellent example of an environmentally sustainable community is St. Davids in Wales, which plans to be the first carbon neutral city in the world.

Plans include energy efficiency modifications to houses, biodiesel to power vehicles, hydroelectric wave turbines to supply environmentally sustainable electricity, and several other measures, are all ways that St. Davids plans to reduce its environmental impact.

However, rather than making existing cities and communities more efficient they are building whole new green cities. China has two such projects in development, in stark contrast to other metro areas in China notorious for having poor environmental records.

As architects go green worldwide, more examples of green buildings are currently in the making. Earthships designed and built by architect Mike Reynolds in New Mexico, for example, take environmental sustainability to the extreme, and are virtually self sustaining, requiring little in the way of outside utilities and providing many basics like food, water, and heat year round.

Many innovators are pushing the boundaries with green buildings, but governments are becoming more active too. Several government programs provide incentives and guidelines, such as LEED in North America, for green buildings and green communities, and to encourage builders and architects to build with environmental sustainability in mind.

More information about green communities around the Web:

Green Communities - EPA guide with an overview of current and future sustainability projects including case studies, sample vision statements and action plans, criteria checklist, student and teacher resources, FAQ, related resources.

10 Amazing Green Cities - A survey of notable green cities around the world with profiles of Malmo, Sweden, Copenhagen, Denmark, Portland, Oregon, Vancouver, Canada and Reykjavik, Iceland.