Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this
We’ve been following the growth of collaborative consumption and we’d like to add one more movement to the list of examples of collaborative consumption: COHOUSING.
Founded in Denmark in the 1970s, cohousing neighborhoods are composed of private homes clustered around shared open space and a “common house” with facilities ranging from a workshop and guest rooms, to a play area for kids and much more. On average cohousing communities range is size from 12 to 35 households and are defined by a six characteristics: 1) participatory design process; 2) neighborhood design to encourage community; 3) extensive common facilities; 4) resident management; 5) a non-hierarchical leadership structure, and 6) separate household income sources.
By nature, cohousing communities are sustainable communities and a true example of collaborative consumption:
• Common facilities include a kitchen and dining area where common meals are served several days a week. As a resident you sign up to cook and clean once or twice a month, and benefit from being able to eat a common meal several times a week (you choose the # of times).
• Common areas may also include a woodshop, craft room, music room, teen room or rooms for guests – depending on the interests of the residents. These spaces allow each household to have access to tools or extra bedrooms without the duplication and cost that would otherwise happen in a single-family neighborhood. (Just think of silly it is for every household to have its own lawnmower, table saw, ping-pong table or extra bedroom – given the hours of actual use).
• Cars are kept to the edge of the site leaving more space for shared outdoor areas and activities.
• Costs for things such as solar panels are reduced and amortized by the group as a whole. And by agreeing on a few housing types, construction costs are less than if each person had a custom-designed home. Also, common areas reduce the amount of space needed in private homes thereby conserving building materials as well as energy and maintenance costs.
• And collaborative consumption also happens informally in cohousing: you learn your neighbor is also going to the show you just bought tickets to and you can carpool; you’d like to try out cross-country skiing but don’t want to invest in buying or renting equipment, and so on.
To be clear, cohousing still maintains the distinction between private and community. Each household has it own home (and kitchen) and spaces for privacy – but unlike most neighborhoods built in the late 20th and early 21st century, cohousing allows you to also have community, when and to what extent you want it.
Cohousing was introduced to North America in the late 1980s by architects Chuck Durrett and Katie McCamant with their seminal book: Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. Since then 120 communities have been built in the U.S. and Canada with another 100 in the process of formation (and the number of groups is growing by the day). As in Denmark, future residents are involved in the design process of the site, common facilities and private homes to ensure it reflects their needs and priorities of the resident group.
For more information: http://www.cohousingco.com
And the following books:
Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves (available at: http://www.newvillagepress.net/book/?GCOI=97660100455820)
Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Independent Living (available at: http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/4040)
