LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- The term `` eco community '' might conjure up an image of bearded hippies tending an allotment before sharing a mung bean stew . But as today 's urbanites become more concerned about reducing their carbon footprints , some are finding that modern eco communities offer them a way to live sustainably without foregoing their home comforts . The Nubanusit Neighborhood is a cohousing project that emphasizes sustainability . Communities that put an emphasis on green values range from isolated eco villages to sophisticated co-housing projects . Co-housing was dreamed up in Denmark in the idealistic 60s . It allows residents to live in communities where they own their own homes but are actively involved in running their own neighborhoods , which often include a common house where shared dining and other activities are an option . Sarah Berger , from the UK Co-housing Network , told CNN , `` More and more people keep contacting us about getting involved in co-housing communities -- there 's an unquenchable thirst for this sort of thing . '' As well as co-housing being widespread in Europe , the U.S. Co-housing Association claims there are more than 150 co-housing communities in the U.S . But where co-housing projects were once primarily intended as a return to a more collective , less isolated way of living , new projects often place an emphasis on sustainable living . The Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm in New Hampshire , U.S. , is a new co-housing project designed to the highest green standards , including the U.S. Green Building Council 's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design benchmark . Nubanusit co-founder Shelly Goguen Hulbert says its 29 homes are densely insulated and have triple glazing , meaning they are virtually airtight . A heat recovery system uses warm exhaust air to heat incoming fresh air , minimizing heat loss . Homes are heated by a centralized wood pellet boiler system , with the pellets sourced from a manufacturer based 5 miles away . And the 70-acre site includes a farm , which means the community can grow its own food or have it grown right on their doorstep by professional farmers . All this helps minimize residents ' carbon footprint , and that 's a big attraction for many . Noel White is an editor and writer who has just moved to the neighborhood with his wife and two children . `` With the home we were living in before it would have been very difficult to do a lot of retro fitting to it or do things to make it more energy efficient , '' he explains . `` But here we 're moving to a place where other people have spent a lot of time thinking about these things and have made very good choices about the energy efficiency of the home and its environmental impact . Someone else has taken the time and effort and had the expertise to make those choices carefully and we 've taken advantage of it by buying into it . '' It 's that opportunity to live in purpose-built sustainable homes that attracted another resident , Jeff Drake , a psychotherapist , who moved to the neighborhood with his partner 7 months ago . Like White , he says it would have been exceptionally difficult and expensive to retrofit his previous home to be more energy efficient . Now he gets to live his green dream . Would you like to live in an eco community ? `` This summer I can cool off my house by closing it up during the day ; I do n't need any air con . In the winter the amount of heat I have to use is really small because the insulation is tremendous . It 's exciting to live that way , '' says Drake . Although work on Nubanusit Neighborhood wo n't be completed until the end of the year , over half the homes have been sold and the people choosing to move there are by no means hardcore environmentalists . Of his own family White says , `` I think we have been environmentally conscious for a long time and have tried to be thoughtful about the way we live , but that 's the way a lot more people are now anyway . '' As ordinary people become more environmentally aware the idea of eco communities is becoming more mainstream . In the UK , Living Villages has won architecture awards for its Wintles development in Shropshire . Its 14 houses use lots of sustainable timber , are highly insulated , and have heat recovery systems and solar panels . Like co-housing developments , Living Villages emphasizes community as much as environmentally sound design , with the Wintles homes facing each other around a village green to encourage social interaction . But this kind of green living does n't come cheap , with new Wintles homes on the market for up to $ 900,000 , a far cry from the inclusive ideology behind archetypal hippy collectives . And that 's the catch -- the more creature comforts and environmentally-friendly features are built into a home , the more expensive , and exclusive , it becomes . Inherent to eco communities is their small scale . Not only does it provide the social glue that holds them together , it allows communal facilities and equipment , such as lawnmowers , to be shared , reducing the community 's carbon footprint . But in a crowded world that size restriction limits how widespread these developments can become . While these communities will never be for everyone , Berger maintains co-housing is a model for the future . `` A lot of the basic concepts behind co-housing are applicable to larger housing developments , '' she says . `` Some of the principles could be woven in to conventional developments -- things like having the residential area car free , having a common house where you can eat communally from time to time , hold events , and have a children 's room and games room for teenagers . `` Also , having offices for home working means you 're meeting government objectives about reducing carbon footprints and living more sustainably . ''
More people are choosing to live sustainably in eco communities . The problem is that the government has not done enough to support this kind of community and it needs to. Living Villages in the UK has designed award-winning eco villages .