What about safety and security?

Because residents know all their neighbors, cohousing provides an excellent built-in neighborhood watch system. Residents easily notice someone who is not a familiar face in the neighborhood. Even in urban areas, many cohousers are comfortable leaving their front doors unlocked when they go to the common house to pick up laundry or mail. Cohousing parents report that their communities feel extremely safe for raising children. If a child falls off a swing when he or she is out of his or her parent’s immediate sight, for example, another adult surely will assist the child. Additionally, everyone helps protect and maintain the property for a resident traveling out of town.