Envisioning the “American dream” was focused on a family’s house that is surrounded by a white picket fence and usually inhabited by a nuclear family. The “American dream” has shifted to include one’s community and its relationship with nature as people begun to think more globally about the environment. This awareness has helped prompt the rise of “green communities” that design and create neighborhoods and communities that aim to be amicable rather than threatening to the natural environment.

The term “green communities” or “eco-friendly communities” is still vague, which is as diverse as the natural wildlife it seeks to protect. Some designs 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 separated from wilderness–but these residents aim to protect wildlife by living smaller themselves.