Cohousing 101
Cohousing is an approach to building neighborhoods in a way that really promotes community.
I can have my privacy here, but there’s community right outside my door. I mean it’s the best of both worlds.
“We didn’t know any of our neighbors … we just craved a deeper sense of community.”
“Cohousing isn’t a new idea and it isn’t very different from traditional homeownership. You still own your own apartment or house, but you gain access to shared spaces like community gardens and common rooms where residents can cook, eat, and hang out together.”
“She raised her daughter with the help of people she had just met.”
“Community has helped resident Vicki R. avoid a year of isolation.”
“It’s a way to live together and in some ways more affordably.”
“Intention is the single most important characteristic that differentiates cohousing from any other housing model.”
“Everything is not rainbows and unicorns in cohousing … but living in cohousing, we’re intentional about our relationships. We’re motivated to resolve our differences.”
The Basics of Cohousing
General Resources
Is Cohousing the Future of Urban Design? by Towergate Insurance
Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities by Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett. Provides a high-level overview of cohousing.
Cohousing Communities Help Prevent Social Isolation video features communities in Denmark and the US that are choosing to live in intentionally intergenerational communities.
Senior-specific
The Senior Cohousing Handbook by Charles Durrett. Provides an overview of senior cohousing.
What is Senior Cohousing? by Cara Imperato, Senior Advice
A Perspective on Cohousing from Bill and Kay Darlington, Quimper Village Cohousing
Battling Rising Costs of Living by Nicole Brodeur, Seattle Times
Aging in Community by Jana Lynott, AARP
In cohousing communities, UU seniors are finding new ways to ‘age in place’ by Kris Willcox, UU World
