From off-grid and sustainable agrihoods to urban ecovillages and income sharing communes, "intentional community" is quickly growing in popularity as a housing concept.

Permaculture is a creative design process based on whole-systems thinking informed by ethics and design principles. This approach seeks to mimic the patterns and relationships we can find in nature and can be applied to all aspects of human habitation, from agriculture to ecological building, from appropriate technology to education and even metropolises.