Waiting in traffic that never stops, shopping in huge shopping centers filled with big-box stores, driving at least half an hour to work, owning a big home with land – the American dream, right? Not for everyone.

Urban sprawl is at an all-time high. Metropolitan areas are supposed to develop by building out just beyond the suburbs, and then filling in the areas closer to the city. We've built out and not filled in.

In fact, the average American walks four minutes a day and takes 14 car trips a day. The number of people who travel 90 minutes or more each way to work has doubled since 1990. The average home size was 2,140 square feet in 2000, compared to 1,385 square feet in 1972.

While this may be ideal for many, a small portion of the population craves the opposite. Houses close to stores and parks, where a car is an option, not a necessity, and you might actually know your neighbor: the new urbanism.

This design movement moves beyond bamboo, water-efficient appliances and hybrid vehicles – although those things are all good steps to lowering our carbon footprints. It instead focuses on the big picture of changing our whole lifestyle, not just our possessions and building materials. Unfortunately, LEED certifications don't account for the location of a building – whether people can walk to it or take alternative transportation. The greenest house in America could be far away from stores and its inhabitants would be forced to drive everywhere, but would it really be green? Ideally, we should have both. Our communities should be livable, walkable and of medium-density, and include housing and businesses and shops, and all the buildings should be constructed of environmentally friendly materials and use renewable energy.

In our focus to pick green materials, we should also remember to try a green lifestyle. It could help our communities, increase safety, decrease obesity, and take a bunch of cars off the road – all resulting in lower emissions of carbon dioxide.