In light of concerns about food and human health, fraying social ties, economic uncertainty, and rampant consumerism, some people are foregoing a hurried, distracted existence and embracing a mindful way of living. Intentional residential communities across the United States are seeking the freedom to craft their own societies and live out Mohandas K. Gandhi's vision of democracy based on the values of nonviolence, self-sufficiency, equality, and voluntary simplicity.

Over the course of four years, A. Whitney Sanford visited ecovillages, cohousing communities, and Catholic worker...