Love Thy Neighbor: Cohousing
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-07-28/love-thy-neighbor-cohousing
Cohousing is often misunderstood-- 1960s-era communes come to mind for many. In fact, advocates of cohousing see their communities as condo or homeowner associations with a mission statement. Residents live in private homes, but share considerable common space, responsibility for maintenance and meals. We'll explore cohousing in the D.C. area and consider the growing popularity of the movement three decades after it was first introduced in the U.S.
Guests
Kathryn 'Katie' McCamant
architect; co-author of "Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities" (New Society Publishers)
Ann Zabaldo
Principal partner; Cohousing Collaborative, LLC and founding resident member of Takoma Village Cohousing in Washington, D.C.
Jack Wilbern
principal partner; architectural firm, Butz-Wilbern, Ltd and architect, planner and a founding resident; Blueberry Hill cohousing community in Vienna, VA
Comments
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I lived in co-operative housing for a couple years in college and loved it. Today I have a partner and a baby. Is Takoma Village family-friendly? I moved to Mt. Rainier, MD thinking I'd have the kind of community you're discussing on your show, but such is not the case.
Where could you find rentals in the DC area?
Co-housing reminds of what we've experienced living in Army on-post housing. Lasting friendships are formed quickly. Parents gathering outside to watch the kids play and shared meals with neighbors are common. We are currently living in a civilian neighborhood in Northern Virginia and although we really like our neighborhood it has taken a lot longer to get to know the people who live around us. I miss living on-post.
Monique
Burke, VA
Seems like so many innovations are dedicated to "families" and "kids".
What do you do, where do you go if you just an aging, single, non breeding person who is not necessarily even wealthy enough to qualify as middle class?
I'm curious what your guests have to say on Latinos living much in the same way here in the US - why do they think this is is look at with a bad perception, but Cohousing by Americans is not. Thanks.
Great show! I am the new Executive Director of the Cohousing Association of the US. I want to announce that Coho/US will be presenting at the National Community Land Trust Network conference this fall in Seattle. Cohousing and the CLT movement are working towards building affordable cohousing neighborhoods.
Cohousing is a brilliant neighborhood design/build model, and CLT's keep homes affordable. As we talk about inclusivity, affordability is an important part of the conversation, to welcome moderate income folks of all ethnic backgrounds.
Sustainability means green design, AND it means doing the work to make sure all are welcomed and included. Coho/US is dedicated to growing our movement in an inclusive way.
People can email me for more details: edcohous@gmail.com
Thank you!
Rebecca Lane
Wonderful idea. We haven't been building neighborhoods for a long time now. It's about time that changed.
Great question, Joe. As the movement grows, affordability is a significant part of the conversation. The Cohousing Association of the US is building relationships with national and local organizations that develop affordable housing for moderate income homeowners, so we can create options for future cohousers like you.
Stay connected to our progress at our website, http://www.cohousing.org/. We'll be updating our pages soon to reflecting our growing relationships!
Mid Atlantic Cohousing is a fabulous group as well, and I encourage you to check in at their website, and if you're in the DC area, arrange to visit some of the communities there.
Feel free to email me as well - edcohous@gmail.com.
Warnmly,
Rebecca Lane
I love co-housing and I'm glad to hear the show focused on it. However, not everyone has the forbearance to go through the organization process with many families.
An alternative is to simply share housing with others. My book, "Sharing Housing, A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates" provides a process for selecting good housemates combined with stories of folks who are doing it.
More on here: http://www.sharinghousing.com
and about the book here: http://www.sharinghousing.com/book.
Awesome question! The cohousing model is a great one for tight community groups to adopt as a design/build model. If some people see Latino communities as bad, that is a reflection of their prejudice. Tight knit neighborhoods and people living together and helping each other out is a good thing!
I absolutely agree, Cohousing Ed. Communities working together, whether they connected by ethnicity, religion or simply humanity, can help give its members the spiritual, physical, and/or financial support they need (while taking the burden off of the government) and empower them to help others outside of their community. Like Katie McCamant said, community helps us get what we need individually, so we that we can help others.
I actually think that religious communities and ethnic communities in which building and living in community is culturally ingrained may have a head start when they actually practice what they preach.
Love this cohousing idea. Our family just moved in with my cousin's and his family. Two families living together under one roof can be pretty scary, but if things worked out, then this would be beneficial to both families. One of the reasons we moved in with another family is mostly because we want to be able to save money.
Hello all:
Realized it might be good to give the local contacts that Ann and I either mentioned (or meant to mention):
for the September 10th - Cohousing 101 Orientation and general information on the dozen or so Mid Atlantic area communities and opportunities go to:
www.midatlanticcohousing.org/
for a great read and information on cohousing and our take on a host of related concepts go to:
http://cohousingblog.com/
for greater depth of content and locale conversations join our social media site:
http://www.cohousingworks.com/
We would have loved to get into a lot of the really exciting and fun stories of how its both pretty amazingly ordinary and ordinarily amazing to live in a strong community like cohousing.
If you're interested: find some friends to do a book club on the Cohousing book by Katie & Churck and start being the community now that you want to be. The place to live will follow if you have that core. :)
Jack Wilbern
Cohousing Collaborative
Joe:
To paraphrase the Dalai Lama (from last week here in DC) BE the change you want. The kind of social connections, support, fun and general benefits of strong neighborhoods and communities like cohousing - starts with you reaching out to others that might be interested.
It can be as simple as starting a shopping co-op with some neighbors, creating a emergency phone tree for your building or having a group of people start a rotating dinner club. (Food - always my favorite path to community!)
And trust me "an aging, single, non breeding person" that has successfully avoided middle class-dom has loads to gain from being connected to people they can trust to water the plants or that they can give a ride too.
Jack
I'm living in cohousing right now and I love it, the main differences between cohousing and single-family housing is that I have neighbors that I know, cook with, drink wine with, spend hours on the patio talking about everything and nothing.
People who end up unhappy in their cohousing communities often didn't have accurate expectations (or were not completely informed) going into it. Set yourself and your future neighbors up for success; give them a copy of Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities by Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett.
Spread the word.
Build it up.
Takoma Village, along with almost every cohousing community forming, building or built is VERY family friendly. We're an intergenerational community with about 22 children of all ages.
jent123 -- if you are looking for rentals in cohousing in the area such you go to
http://www.MidAtlanticCohousing.org
At that site you will find a list of all the cohousing communities in MAC w/ links to their websites, The individual community website should list either the rental or for sale unit or at least give you a contact email address to which you can write and inquire.
Joe! Let me share a secret with you! The majority of people in cohousing are single! It's a great place for single folks, for older adults, too. There are cohousing communities that are created for folks 55+.
In re: finances ... if you're not tied to the immediate DC area there are some cohousing communities with very good pricing. You might look at Liberty Village in Frederick or Hundredfold Farm in PA. And if you can go even further afield ... there are some great housing choices in cohousing in the U.S. Check the Mid Atlantic Cohousing website for these communities and and link to their websites:
http://www.MidAtlanticCohousing.org
You can check out
http://www.cohousing.org for a list of all the cohousing communities in the U.S. in various stages of development.
You can also look at
http://www.ic.org for a list of ALL intentional communities including religious, vegan, vegetarian, farming, retirement, etc etc etc.
Natasha 151 --
I don't think the way Latinos or other ethnic groups live is "bad" at all! These groups have continued their tradition of living in community. And besides ... I consider Latinos living here in the US as Americans.
korimajeed -- I so agree with you. While it was mentioned that there are no religious cohousing communities ... it's true to the extent that there are no COMPLETED groups with a religious core.
I had the opportunity and honor to work with a group of Mennonites trying to start a coho community in VA. I've also worked with a group here in DC trying to start Catholic Cohousing. Ditto a group in the Sarasota, FL area.
Having a serious core value that people can organize around is a useful tool in focusing the group's energy and experience. The key is that the group is open to people who may not share their faith but may share many, many, many of the other values expressed by that group of people.
monetvs -- You know ... before we got into this "Davy Crockett" or "John Wayne" thing of having to be strong loners with our own little piece of the universe on which no one may trespass ... families actually used to live together. Sometimes three generations in one household! The keys to living with others whether family, friends or neighbors are clear expectations, good communication skills and a pathway to resolving conflict. Works for families, works for neighbors, works for nations.
I hope your experience in this living situation on which you have embarked is gratifying and satisfying. It's an adventure!
I lived in co-operative housing for a couple years in college and loved it. Today I have a partner and a baby. Is Takoma Village family-friendly? I moved to Mt. Rainier, MD thinking I'd have the kind of community you're discussing on your show, but such is not the case.
so so interesting ove Thy Neighbor: Cohousing
regards
Animals Plants Rainforest