2010 Coho U - Research and Writers Workshop

Wednesday, June 16, and Thursday, June 17

Led by Diane Margolis, Lisa Poley, and Dave Wann

Early research has begun to document the lessons learned from cohousing communities in addressing social, economic, and environmental sustainability at the neighborhood level. The intent of this two-day academic workshop is to bring together a diverse group of researchers, writers, and others who have an interest in studying and writing about the role that neighborhood-level community may play in the sustainability of human culture and our planet.

Working together, participants will:

• share information and ideas;
• present research;
• brainstorm research possibilities;
• collaborate with others in the field;
• meet people who are leaders in cohousing development, community building, and neighborhood design and who are also cohousing residents themselves.

Panel discussions, papers, and presentations are being solicited. Suggested topics should be relevant to neighborhoods, communities, and the “local.” Topics may include but are not limited to:

• Child development
• Youth
• Aging/ gerontology
• Sustainability
• Design/neighborhood sustainability
• Resilience in the face of environmental change
• Communication
• Coordination/democracy/consensus process
• Community and commons building/group process
• Community/commons/values/culture

Please join us for this invigorating two-day gathering where collaboration and creativity will be encouraged and fostered. See the attached call for presenters to learn how you can share your own research and writing at this workshop.

Diane Margolis, PhD, is a founding member of Cambridge Cohousing in Massachusetts. She writes about cohousing and is professor emeritus at UCONN.  She has published two books – The Managers: Corporate Life in America (William Morrow) and
The Fabric of Self: A Theory of Ethics and Emotions (Yale University Press) – as well as numerous papers, articles, and chapters on community, emotions, gender, morality, and culture. In 2007, she joined the board of the Cohousing Association of the United States.


Lisa Poley is a founding member of Shadowlake Village Cohousing in Blacksburg, Virginia. She teaches in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech and completed her PhD dissertation research on cohousing and democracy building. She joined the board of the National Cohousing Association in 2008.


Dave Wann is an author, filmmaker, and speaker about sustainability. He’s now authored or edited ten books. His most recent one, New Normal: Creating an Affordable Civilization, will be published in fall 2010. This book and
Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle are sequels to the best-selling book he co-authored, Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, which is now available in nine languages. Dave is also the author of Reinventing Community: Stories from the Walkways of Cohousing. In addition, he has produced 20 videos and TV programs, including the award-winning TV documentary “Designing a Great Neighborhood” and “Building Livable Communities,” for then-Vice President Al Gore. Dave is the father of two children, president of the Sustainable Futures Society, and a fellow of the national Simplicity Forum. He codesigned the cohousing neighborhood where he’s now lived for 12 years – Harmony Village in Golden, Colorado. He’s taught at the college level, worked more than a decade for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and worked as a freelancer for the last 13 years. To learn more about Dave, visit his website at www.davewann.com.