It's old...
Once upon a time, people lived in extended families and in villages. Without rapid transport, people tended to stay close to home and houses tended to be clustered near each other for convenience and safety. Without electricity for communications or entertainment, people sang, made music, told stories, played games, talked. The workplace was in or near the home, so children could be with their families and learn skills. Few people had a lot of money or things, so resources were commonly shared. You could expect your neighbor to help you out, and you expected to have the opportunity to reciprocate. Everyone contributed, and everyone looked after the young and the old. There also tended to be a high degree of ethnic and religious homogeneity, intolerance, and a provincial attitude that discouraged change or individuality.

Cohousing offers the warmth, mutual support, security and economy of traditional village life, while affording the privacy, autonomy, tolerance and diversity that are highly valued by people in the modem world.

It's new...
Many Americans today complain of feeling lonely and isolated, unsettled and discontent. We long for connectedness, but don't want to be told how to live. We feel that we have to make it on our own, but find our resources inadequate. Our children and our old folks are cared for by paid professionals, and we worry about becoming isolated and useless when we ourselves get old. We want to see friends but it's difficult to find the time. We'd like to share more with other people, but aren't interested in 6O's-style communes. We're worried about the environmental impact of current lifestyles, but don't want to lower our standard of living.

Finally, WE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND CHANGE HOW WE LIVE.

It's borrowed...
Cohousing started in Denmark over 20 years ago, and is well established there. Now in the United States, the concept is growing in popularity; by now there are over 150 development groups and several dozen functioning cohousing communities. In a cohousing community , each household owns its own complete private home, with private outdoor space. The homes are grouped around a cooperatively owned common house, with auxilliary facilities such as a larger kitchen, gathering hall, children's areas, laundry , food co-op, guest rooms, office space, computers, workshops. Cars are parked on the side, so the area around the houses is more pleasant and child-friendly.

The ideal is full participation and full empowerment for all, from the physical design through the selection of residents to the management of the commons. Decisions are made by consensus, so there can be no ruling faction. Residents participate in cooperative activities on a voluntary basis. Individual privacy, autonomy, finances, beliefs and habits are respected.

It's green...
Ecological sanity is built-in to a cohousing community. The clustering of buildings cuts down on pavement and other infrastructure, and frees the majority of the land for other purposes. Shared resources allow less waste, fewer purchases of major appliances and tools, less packaging, less fuel usage. Shared energy makes it feasible to garden organically on a large scale. Recycling is easier. Bulk orders lower costs on many necessities and make amenities such as solar technology more affordable. People who live in cohousing find that because of the facilities of the commons they need less private space, so houses can be modest in size.

It's not...
Cohousing communities are not for profit. They are not ideologically based (despite the foregoing environmental remarks); you don't have to adopt a "party line" to live comfortably in cohousing. They are not therapeutic or spiritual communities. They are not communes. They are not substitute families. Personal finances are not shared. Residents are each other's neighbors, not life-partners.

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Last updated November 11, 2002