Find your best green community

When it comes to living green, a major component is your actual house or apartment. Making sure your dwelling is green includes the materials used to build your home, (a long story in itself) and another issue is home size. When it comes to green homes, smaller is better if you’d like to lower your footprint. The last component of green housing is the community you live in.

Community and where you live in said community goes a long way toward being or not being green. If your home is green, but in a terribly un-green community or you live so far away from everything that you’re driving all the time, it’s just not so eco-friendly. If you’re moving or building a home and want to keep it as green as possible, look for the following community features.

• Plenty of green spaces and a home location that’s close enough to these green spaces to walk or bike to them. Green spaces can include parks, hiking trials, community gardens, and so on.
• Bike paths and some sort of community biking laws. There are some places that are more bike friendly than others.
• Nearby markets, libraries, and other places you frequent.
• Good public transport options – bus, subway, or rail system transport for example.
• Community recycling options and it’s best if your neighborhood offers curbside pick-up.
• A location that’s not heavy on traffic so that there’s less pollution near your home.

You don’t need any of the above to actually commit to a green lifestyle, but when possible these choices will help you live greener and healthier.

More information that can help you choose a green community:

• Green Eco Communities
• 2008 US City Sustainability Rankings
• Learn about public transport in your area
• Top five cities for public transport
• 10 best, worst cities for bike commuting

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