About Cohousing and other Resources

Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods. Cohousing residents are consciously committed to living as a community. The physical design encourages both social contact and individual space. Private homes contain all the features of conventional homes, but residents also have access to extensive common facilities such as open space, courtyards, a playground and a common house.

Common Characteristics of Cohousing

Relationships

• Neighbors commit to being part of a community for everyone’s mutual benefit.
• Cohousing cultivates a culture of sharing and caring.
• Design features and neighborhood size (typically 20-40 homes) promote frequent interaction and close relationships.

Balancing Privacy and Community

• Cohousing neighborhoods are designed for privacy as well as community.
• Residents balance privacy and community by choosing their own level of engagement.

Participation

• Decision making is participatory and often based on consensus.
• Self-management empowers residents, builds community, and saves money.

Shared Values

• Cohousing communities support residents in actualizing shared values.
• Cohousing communities typically adopt green approaches to living.

This is from Cohousing Association of US  website where you can read the complete article.

Other Cohousing Resources

• For more, read  Cohousing Association of US’s What is Cohousing at www.cohousing.org.
• There’s a wealth of information on the national website including a directory of CoHousing in the United States.
• The Northwest Intentional Communities Association (NICA) was formed in 1992 with active involvement from Songaia members. This group helps pull together many different Northwest intentional communities and is a great resource for communities and people who seek community life.
• The Fellowship for Intentional Communities (FIC) nurtures connections and cooperation among communitarian and their friends. The FIC is best known as the publisher of the Communities Directory and Communities Magazine.
• Great Cohousing InfoGraphic from a UK insurance company.

Other CoHousing in our area

• Duwamish Cohousing
• Jackson Place Cohousing
• Puget Ridge Cohousing
• Songaia Cohousing Community
• Vashon Cohousing
• Winslow Cohousing Group

Suggested Reading

Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities by Diana Leafe Christian. An excellent source for community stories and recommendations about what works and does not work when building community CoHousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves by Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett, with Ellen Hertzman, 2nd edition. An inspiring and informative description of how cohousing communities were created and how they are working. A highly recommended place to start! The Cohousing Handbook: Building a Place for Community by Chris and Kelly Scott-Hanson, revised edition. A nuts and bolts guide to developing your community. Tree Bressen’s extenstive book list What is Intentional Community?  Finally the classic cohousing books by founder Charles Durrett: Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities and The Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent Living.