Question: We are 3 months into starting a co-housing community in western MA. We will soon be discussing how we will make group decisions. I don’t think we have to reinvent the wheel on this one. Consensus and sociocracy seem to be common strategies. Which do you recommend? Sociocracy and consensus are not opposite things…. Read More

Question: I would like to know the number of units of the smallest Cohousing communities and people’s opinions about the smallest number of units necessary for a viable Cohousing community. Response: Years ago, somewhere in the literature I saw the results of a survey that the ideal size was 25-35 households. Under 25 could get… Read More

Harvard and AARP say senior housing is the next big American crisis, according to a new report. From Senior Housing News, “A shortage of caregivers for baby boomers, high cost of senior living products and services and lack of disability-equipped housing reveal a seniors housing crisis as the 50-and-over population is projected to increase about… Read More

“… Switzerland’s Pumpipumpe is trying to bring a little of that back — forward? — into the information age. Rather than developing a mobile app that assists sharing of goods between neighbors, they’ve gone old-school with stickers that people can apply to their mailboxes to let others know what they have to lend. It’s a… Read More

I had the pleasure of meeting with Laird Schaub and other members of the FIC (Fellowship for Intentional Community) oversight committee, at Shannon Farm Community in Afton, Virginia. To start, this was affirmation of our beneficial collaborative partnership; as sister organizations, we both seek to build community. I offered that our cohousing model may be… Read More

When I took on the role of Executive Director of Coho/US in April, I was ready to partner with the board in tackling our ambitious goals set over the winter. With almost 5 months on the job, on this Labor Day, I thought it time to provide a summary “how are we doing?” An initial… Read More

Coho/US welcomes two new members joining the Board of Directors. Peter Lazar is active in the cohousing movement, giving talks on the subject and leading tours. He and his wife, Molly, are founders of Sheeflee Cohousing, which is working to build a 26 home cohousing neighborhood near Charlottesville, Virginia. For the past nine years, Peter,… Read More

Those of us on the marketing teams of cohousing communities are well aware that cohousing is not yet embedded in the American culture. In fact just the opposite. Americans pride themselves on their independence. We at Wolf Creek Lodge recognize the need to first educate those with an interest in cohousing. Only then will they… Read More

Final construction details are near completion as we prepare to move into our Durham Coho building in August. As the first self-developed urban cohousing community in North Carolina, we are mighty proud of our accomplishment. We take special joy in the recent additions of beautiful gardens, of artistic “sails” on our rooftop terrace, and of… Read More

Carolyn Dyer of Iowa City Cohousing, still forming, posted their marketing plan to the Cohousing-L email list a week or two ago. I thought it contained many new ideas and asked her if I could share it here. She said yes so here it is. I particularly liked their use of speakers on related topics,… Read More

Yours with Words Ever since working on my high school newspaper (1965-67), I’ve wanted to be a journalist. While that has by no means been the only thing I’ve wanted to be, communication has been one of my enduring passions. Slowly, over the decades, I’ve succeeded. Starting in the 80s I occasionally authored magazine articles… Read More

Architectural review policies are generally hard to write, partly because we have very different housing experiences when we move into cohousing and partly because we don’t know how to talk about architecture or colors.. The process touches on understanding how to live in a jointly owned or managed community, legal ramifications, and shared aesthetic or… Read More

Grace Kim responded to a query on cohousing-l to “cohousing veterans:” “What should we (a forming group) be worried about / work out in advance / get a good plan for NOW?” I’ll preface my advice with the fact that I am an architect, but also a founding member of an urban cohousing group in… Read More

On Cohousing-L, a member of a forming group asked a smart question: “What SHOULD we be worried about?” Philip Dowds, an architect living in Cornerstone Cohousing in Cambridge Cohousing replied:Plan on delay. Plan on surprising cost increases. Plan on flogging your way past disappointments. Your group may have to deal one or more of …internal… Read More

I have the first verse of Cat Steven’s “Peace Train” swirling in my noggin. “Now I’ve been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come. And I believe it could be, something good has begun.” The tune is in my head because Coho/US has gotten off to an excellent start this year. In the… Read More

HOA Pulse is website for Home Owner Associations. It has an excellent newsletter and is also a social media site for with focused discussions for topics related to homeowner association management. http://www.hoapulse.com Cohousing at 30+ years with communities aging and growing in size is facing new issues. In larger communities, relationship complexities increase geometrically. The… Read More

What does it mean to “live in community” as we do in cohousing? This sounds wonderful, but the concept is hard to explain. I was struck a couple of Sundays ago, listening to my minister’s sermon (Rev Deborah Cayer, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Durham, NC), by her exploration of this concept and the… Read More

10th Anniversary Open House – Oak Creek Commons, CA – May 31, 2014Where: Oak Creek Commons, 635 Nicklaus St., Paso Robles CAIt’s time to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Oak Creek Commons cohousing community…and you are invited to come join us on Saturday, May 31.If you are wondering if cohousing is for you… or… Read More

Welcome to the BETA of our new website! Our classified ads aren’t quite ready for prime time, but everything else you are looking for should be here. Find something that doesn’t make sense? Something that breaks in your web browser? Something missing? Please let me know. Have you seen something you think should be on… Read More

This past weekend, we at Manzanita Village celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Northern Arizona’s first and only Cohousing community. For those of you who are not familiar with the term ”cohousing”, suffice it to say that it is a community that is created by the people who live there. How the community manifests itself is… Read More