Tag: Definitions


Glossary of Cohousing Terms

Submitted by CohoUS Staff and Volunteers on
Affordable housing: As with any kind of housing development, affordability will vary considerably based on location, design, site requirements, common amenities, and availability of public or private subsidies. Many cohousing communities actively seek ways to make more of their units affordable. Some states or municipalities require developers of multi-family housing, including cohousing developme
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Insist on Plain English Documents

Submitted by Sharon Villines, Sociocracy.info on
Several years ago there was a post on Cohousing-L related to the community’s legal documents that were written in “legalese.” I had recently researched Plain English for Lawyers for a neighbor. She was a single parent trying to set up legal guardianship and financial oversight for her daughter in the event of her death or... Read More

“Cohousing”: A Term Whose Definition Should Be Respected

Submitted by Dominic Castro-Wehr of Nevada City Cohousing and McCamant & Durrett Architects on
On the bright side, the concept of Cohousing is becoming increasingly entrenched in the American imagination— with every new project, what was once a culturally radical and shot in the dark neighborhood experiment is now an empirically supported investment into well-being and sustainability. Unfortunately, Cohousing’s success has enticed others to appropriate the term for their... Read More

More than Cohousing – Cohousing Like and other Alternative Housing Solutions – what’s the difference?

Submitted by Ty Albright, Texas Cohousing on
One emerging goal for cohousing is how cohousing can be used as a model for unique needs. There is often debate or confusion about communities that are “Cohousing-like”. ** Cohousing-like takes aspects of cohousing but is not cohousing. ** More-than-cohousing are cohousing-like communities with a social or economic mission.It is difficult to talk about “More... Read More

Balancing Privacy and Community with Design in Cohousing

Submitted by Laura Fitch Interview with PBS Senior Web Editor Corinne Segal on
Reposted from PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/balancing-privacy-community-design-c… Architect Laura Fitch describes cohousing communities as “privacy within your home and community at your doorstep.” Cooperative living arrangements have existed across a number of cultures for centuries. But the concept took a new form in Denmark in the early 1970s with the establishment
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Is it Cohousing? Dorms for Grownups

Submitted by R. Philip Dowds, Cornerstone Cohousing (Cambridget MA) on
R. Philip Dowds is commenting on the Atlantic Magazine article: Dorms for Grownups: A Solution for Lonely Millennials? In a new model of living, residents will have their own “microunits” built around a shared living space for cooking, eating and hanging out. The single family home, and the condominium within a professionally managed building, remain... Read More

Cohousing and Intentional Community: Does Terminology Matter?

Submitted by Sky Blue, incoming Executive Director of FIC on
Cohousing was one of my first introductions to collective living and the world of Intentional Communities. My father helped found Valley Oaks Village, in Chico, CA, in the mid-90’s. He and I moved into his unit in 1996, when I was 16, and I lived there for a year before I moved out on my... Read More

What Is a Block?

Submitted by Sharon Villlines, Sociocracy.info on
Personally I object to the use of the word “block” as synonymous with “objection” and this entry explains some of the reasons why. What is a block? This is not a facetious question. If this is the word people want to use, what does it mean? From the accounts on the Cohousing-L email discussion list... Read More

Zoning & The Definition of Family

Submitted by Peter Lazar on
This is the sort of home I lived in before we built our cohousing community. It’s also similar to what Wendy writes about in her recent blog entry (https://www.cohousing.org/node/2743). When we think about If you can find a way to support these folks, that would be great: http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-scarborough-zoning…
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Consensus or Sociocracy?

Submitted by Sharon Villines, Sociocracy.info on
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