Anatevka move over. Concerns regarding the planet’s changing climate and the ills in the national housing market are serving to energize New Urbanism, says the Congress for the New Urbanism.

The movement’s holistic approach to building and rebuilding cities and towns – uniting the art of building, the creation of community, and the conservation of the natural world – is proving a rich source of solutions and long-term value in this time of significant change.

For the first time in Austin, Texas (hometown of our celebrated healthpatio denizen Eco Rock), the 16th Annual Congress for the New Urbanism was held from April 2-6, 2008. Katherine Gregor of the Austin Chronicle says the conference has a reputation for transforming thinking and land-use patterns in cities where it’s held. Cheers from HealthPatio for the 1,500+ planners, developers and others who gathered to promote the development of walkable neighborhoods and bring sprawl to a halt. (And jeers to the absent elected officials in city and county positions who neglected to sign up for even the introductory 101 session.)

But will it help keep Austin weird? I think so, considering the old urbanism of Robert Moses ala Long Island New York housing for muggles project.

Do you consider yourself a nature-lover? An appreciator? To get the most out of your view, try nature journaling. Now is a good time to start so that you can really appreciate the change is season. Here are some simple steps to make your own nature journal:

1. Start by opening a window and taking note different types of species, colors, cloud types.

2. Choose a notebook and spend ten to fifteen minutes writing about your observations.

3. Draw (preferably with a pencil) what you can see as accurately as possible.

4. Buy plant and bird guide books for your local area, so you know what you’re looking at.

5. Keep it up!

Another tip: Keep a camera around to capture wild things in action. Thomas Haney, a photographer from Austin, Texas has taken landscape and micro nature photography. To see more photos like the one above, check out Thomas Haney’s website. Of his photos, Thomas says:

“One thing [photography] has certainly taught me,especially macro photography, is how much beauty and complexity there is everywhere, if you just look closely, of course that’s nothing a little serious contemplation couldn’t teach you. I’d say the most positive influence it’s had on me is just to get me out in the wilderness and paying attention.”

A great book I own:

Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth