“The most reliable wealth is found in relationship. I aim to live a life as connected and courageous as possible.”

Always exciting to see cohousing enter the national dialogue in new, engaging ways. This week, Courtney Martin of Temescal Commons Cohousing in Oakland has stirred up a number of great articles re-thinking the played-out “American Dream.” Her new book, The New Better Off, takes a look at what the good life means to the next generation, and features her cohousing experience.

An eloquent speaker, her TED talk earlier this year pieced out the changing story of a life well lived. As she puts it, “All the research shows that the healthiest, happiest and even safest — in terms of both climate change disaster, in terms of crime, all of that — are Americans who live lives intertwined with their neighbors.”

“I think people crave the emotional connection of being from a place and from ‘a people’, as it were.”

Read more on her great CityLab interview here.