"Cohousing? Is that like a commune?" my friend asked. Like her, I grew up in the 1960's when communes were in the news. Both are ways to "think out of the box," with the box being the family home. Unlike communes, however, residents of cohousing own their own private homes and lots.
What is cohousing? Borrowed from Denmark, it is an innovative approach that fosters a truly cooperative, more sustainable community. Cohousing communities are springing up all over, with houses clustered together and connected by pedestrian pathways with a Common House often in the middle. Roads skirt around the edges, creating a central green space for kids. In some communities dinner is available at the Common House two or three nights per week.
David Wann, environmentalist and co-author of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, began researching better design for communities in 1993. He helped design and build the cohousing village in which he now lives, Harmony Village in Golden, Colorado. In a recent phone interview, I asked him how this concept works.
"Because I work at home, walk to stores for exercise, and have friends and recreation (in the form of a large garden) right in my n I've had to borrow my neighbor's battery charger several times recently, because I'm not driving enough to recharge my car's battery. A few basic changes in my daily routine have saved me a lot of money on gas, parking, food, medical bills, insurance premiums, and other expenses, not to mention a lot of stress on the highways. Focusing on things in common creates a "we," not a "me," Wann says.
"Harmony Village has 27 households, with only three families moving out in seven years, not a high turnover. There is age diversity because it's better to mix up the ages. Heated issues for community discussion have been clotheslines, a big screen television for the community house, pesticide use on the community garden, and whether to buy water rights for irrigation. Conflict isn't scary. We find alternatives that make everyone happy."
Wann says he is an introvert who can be a hermit when he wants, but he also enjoys the common meals every week and a half. "Common meals are a great way to entertain guests and not cook." He's on the cooking team every two months and believes in simple, fresh food, much of which is grown in the community garden.
Sustainable Neighborhoods
Most of us will never live in a cohousing community, but we can still enrich our lives by making a few changes. Wann's upcoming book is Superbia! 31 Ways to Create Sustainable Neighborhoods. Co-authored with Dan Chiras, who lives "off the grid," this new book is about principles of cohousing applied to regular neighborhoods.
"The first step to creating a more efficient, friendly community is to get to know your neighbors,” Wann says. “Set up a neighborhood watch, have potluck dinners, start a community garden and a community bank account. Buy up an empty house in the neighborhood for a community house. Look at examples like Village Homes in Davis, Calif., a predecessor of cohousing and a good example of ‘superbia.
“We need to be wise with resources," Wann says. "Unite to approach city government for a pocket park to preserve land in the area." Urban sprawl has doubled the size of metro areas like Kansas City, Atlanta and Las Vegas in just the past few years. Besides making us more inactive, more obese, and more susceptible to chronic diseases like adult-onset diabetes, modern suburban design wreaks havoc on the environment and hits our pocketbooks in ways we don't realize.
Before you consider that beautiful new house in the outer suburbs, check out more than the price tag. Being unable to walk to shopping, school, recreation, or work may have hidden health costs. More time spent in the car means less time spent walking. Let's tune up our neighborhoods for a healthier environment.
These websites have more information.
http://www.terrain.org/articles/13/superbia.htm
http://www.ic.org/nica/Cohousing/Groups1.htm
http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk/Articles/199015.htm
http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC21/McCamant.htm
*** Shirley Fetherolf has built two passive solar homes, taught in public schools and colleges since 1970, and also worked as a reference librarian.
