There’s a craze sweeping the nation called New Urbanism and it could hit your community next. Never heard of it? The concept is simple.

New Urbanism is the movement that encourages families to live, work, and play in or very near their home community. What better way to meet your neighbors or to strike up a conversation with the bank teller. Some towns across the country are building planned neighborhoods which allow neighbors to share landscaped courtyards together and allow families to walk to the neighborhood store safely together.

Sharon McMillan is the host of the New Urban Mom podcast and she recently posted the Top 10 New Urban Communities for Fall 2008. The list is complete with photos and details of these new urban communities, including housing prices and unique features of each community.

“One of the great things about new urbanism is that it supports your market’s desire to work from home and to have the community structures in place to make working from home sustainable,” McMillan says.

Not only are many families suffering from the daily grind of commuting but your local businesses also tend to struggle. For every commuter who works out of town, they are losing potential business.

To learn more about the new urban movement and how to support your local businesses, please visit New Urban Mom and check out Sharon’s weekly podcast.