New Urbanist Town Designed For Ultimate In Green Living

"Of the choices available to new-home buyers, one of the smallest footprints could belong to a house in a New Urbanist community -- that is, one that follows the planning philosophy that models new suburban developments on older, walkable city neighborhoods. With its mixed-use land planning, shopping areas are within walking distance of most houses, so residents can use their cars less. When such a development adjoins public transportation, many two-car households get rid of one car.

To achieve true one-planet living, however, requires more. Fossil fuels would not be used, so the energy for heating, air conditioning and electricity would be produced by on-site renewable sources. To conserve local water sources, rainwater would be stored, treated and recycled. To the extent possible, building materials would be locally manufactured with recycled content.

Achieving all this community-wide would be considered impossible by most land developers and home builders. But it has been done in England by the BioRegional Development Group, which is now working with a U.S. developer.

That developer, Codding Enterprises, based in Rohnert Park north of San Francisco, is in the final planning stages of what promises to be America's first one-planet-living community, Sonoma Mountain Village. Construction is expected to begin next year and end in 2021. The eventual population is projected at about 5,000."