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• thoughts commented  ·  December 21, 2009 2:05 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  This is very relevant for students. I lived in cohousing in college, though it was actually a HUD cooperative dormitory. One route to creating old-fashioned neighborhoods
  What makes cohousing communities unique
  The cohousing idea originated in Denmark, and was promoted in the U.S. by architects Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett in the early 1980s. The Danish concept of “living community” has spread quickly. Worldwide, there are now hundreds of cohousing communities, expanding from Denmark into the U.S, Canada, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and elsewhere.

  In a cohousing community, you know who lives six houses down because you eat common meals with them, decide how to allocate homeowners dues and gratefully accept a ride from them when your car’s in the shop. You begin to trust them enough to leave your 4-year-old with them. You listen to what they have to say, even if you don’t agree with them at first, and you sense that you, too, are being heard.

  Cohousing residents generally aspire to “improve the world, one neighborhood at a time.” This desire to make a difference often becomes a stated mission, as the websites of many communities demonstrate. For example, at Sunward Cohousing near Ann Arbor, MI, the goal is to create a place “where lives are simplified, the earth is respected, diversity is welcomed, children play together in safety, and living in community with neighbors comes naturally.” At Winslow Cohousing near Seattle, the aim is to have “a minimal impact on the earth and create a place in which all residents are equally valued as part of the community.” At EcoVillage at Ithaca, NY, the site of two adjoining cohousing neighborhoods, the goal is “to explore and model innovative approaches to ecological and social sustainability.”

  Many other communities have visions that focus specifically on the value of building community. Sonora Cohousing in Tucson, AZ, seeks “a diversity of backgrounds, ages and opinions, with our one shared value being the commitment to working out our problems and finding consensus solutions that satisfy all members.” Tierra Nueva Cohousing in Oceano, CA, exists “because each of us desires a greater sense of community, as well as strong interaction with and support from our neighbors.”

  For more on "What is Cohousing," see the widely quoted Six Defining Characteristics of Cohousing.

• Lisa commented  ·  December 1, 2009 10:45 a.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Back in the 1940s and '50s HUD did fund some rental housing at universities. I grew up in such a unit in the 1960s.

• anonymous commented  ·  November 23, 2009 2:57 p.m.  ·  Flag as inappropriateFlag as inappropriate  ·  Delete

  Some students are quite happy with the equivalent of a bunk bed and a place to store their clothing. Students do not necessarily need an efficiency, and some don't want to spend the money on it. A sort of hostel arrangement with something like 4-8 bunk beds per room might be a very useful concept, given how tuitions are rising.