Robert Thayer brings the concepts and promises of the growing bioregional movement to a wide audience in a book that passionately urges us to discover "where we are" as an antidote to our rootless, stressful modern lives. LifePlace is a provocative meditation on bioregionalism and what it means to live, work, eat, and play in relation to naturally, rather than politically, defined areas. In it, Thayer gives a richly textured portrait of his own home, the Putah-Cache watershed in California's Sacramento Valley, demonstrating how bioregionalism can be practiced in everyday life. Written...

While the movement toward creating more sustainable communities has been growing for decades, few examples exist of successful and time-tested sustainable communities. Village Homes outside of Davis, California, is one such example. Built between 1975 and 1981 on 60 acres of land, it offers unique features including extensive common areas, community gardens, narrow streets, pedestrian and bike paths, solar homes, and an innovative ecological drainage system.

In Designing Sustainable Communities, Judy and Michael Corbett offer an inside look at the development of the project from start to...