Cohousing is a form
of cooperative community that is resident developed and run and
which combines individual dwelling places with the advantages
of community living. Katie McCamant, co-author (with husband Chuck
Durrett) of the book Cohousing - A New Approach to Housing
Ourselves, likens cohousing to "a custom built neighborhood".
Pioneered in Scandinavia, cohousing has caught on in the U.S.
in recent years, with hundreds of active groups at various stages
of the housing development process.
Participants at the
first Madison, Wisconsin cohousing workshop, February 1991
Typically, individual households are located near a common house with shared facilities such as a dining/gathering room, big kitchen, and often a children's play room, workshop, laundry and guest rooms. Each home or apartment is self-sufficient with a complete kitchen, but shared meals are also available, as the group arranges.
Because of the shared facilities and amenities, each household does not require all of the space or possessions that might be found in a typical home. Residents find it natural to manage such things as buying food in bulk, arranging for children's playmates and sitters, and car-pooling. In this way cohousing facilitates environmental soundness and a strong sense of community.
Village Cohousing
Community Just Completed! ~~ In 1991, Design Coalition
presented a series of workshops to 'jumpstart' cohousing in the
Dane County area. Several 'core groups' formed at the workshops
and one of them, The Village
Cohousing core group has recently completed an urban cohousing
project in Madison.
Cohousing
Tools are worksheets and design & planning
aids from the workshops. They are now
available again for downloading.
For more information on cohousing nation-wide, visit The Cohousing Network website.