inHabitLA

cohousing

what is it?

The following five characteristics set cohousing apart from other housing types:

1. Participatory Process
2. Designs that Facilitate Community
3. Private Homes Supplemented by Common Facilities
4. Resident Management
5. Non-hierarchical Structure and Decision-making


It's the best of small town living. It's like the close-knit neighborhood your parents grew up in. It's a response to social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century

"[A] place where neighbors can sit down to share meals several times a week, where children roam freely from home to home, and where grown-ups can hang out in a communal living room. They plan, in short, to create a village within a single development.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/realestate/

 

"[C]ohousing is a type of intentional community composed of private homes supplemented by shared facilities. The community is planned, owned and managed by the residents – who also share activities which may include cooking, dining, child care, gardening, and governance of the community. Common facilities may include a kitchen, dining room, laundry, child care facilities, offices, internet access, guest rooms, and recreational features."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohousing

 

"[T]his is no co-op. It is a fundamentally different way of living from other domestic arrangements now available… one that speaks to people who want to own an apartment but not feel shut off by it, lost in an impersonal city."

http://nymag.com/realestate/features/61743/