There are a number of emerging studies that suggest that urbanization is actually good for the environment. The theory goes that by condensing a large population into a smaller geographic area, you save more natural open space from being destroyed. Also at play are economies of size: with smaller spaces to heat, cool, and light, electricity use per capita in urban areas is actually lower than in suburban or rural areas. Those who study this also say there are fewer carbon emissions per person in an urban area where many people are using public transportation, rather than suburban areas where there is often one person per automobile.

Irvine, California, which used to be a prime example of suburbia, is quickly turning into an urban environment. Irvine encourages people to work and shop where they live; 35 percent of Irvine’s residents work within city limits. Because it is such a young city, it is taking full advantage of the opportunity to create an “urban village”, where people can walk and bike to work and shops.

In the same way that efficiently stacking people into an urban area is actually more environmentally friendly than spreading them out across a larger area, efficiently stacking your extra possessions in a storage unit is more environmentally friendly than having to own a larger home or apartment in order to store them. Taking advantage of self-storage allows you to live in a smaller, more affordable, and dare we say, environmentally friendly space, without having to give up everything you own.

This month, Alton Self Storage will be opening in Irvine. Alton Self Storage is clean, conveniently located, and equipped with many of today’s leading amenities such as key-code gated entrances, 24 hour video recording and air conditioned units.