COHOUSING -
A Modern Take on
The Old Fashioned Neighborhood
In a cohousing community, each attached or single family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces typically feature a common house, which may include a large kitchen and dining area, laundry, and recreational spaces. Shared outdoor space may include parking, walkways, open space, and gardens. Neighbors also share resources like tools and lawnmowers.
Households have independent incomes and private lives, but neighbors collaboratively plan and manage community activities and shared spaces. The legal structure is typically an HOA, Condo Association, or Housing Cooperative. Community activities feature regularly-scheduled shared meals, meetings, and workdays. Neighbors gather for parties, games, movies, or other events. Cohousing makes it easy to form clubs, organize child and elder care, and carpool.
Common Characteristics of Cohousing
Relationships
Neighbors commit to being part of a community for everyone’s mutual benefit.
Cohousing cultivates a culture of sharing and caring.
Design features and neighborhood size (typically 20-40 homes) promote frequent interaction and close relationships.
Balancing Privacy and Community
Cohousing neighborhoods are designed for privacy as well as community.
Residents balance privacy and community by choosing their own level of engagement.
Participation
Decision making is participatory and often based on consensus.
Self-management empowers residents, builds community, and saves money.
Shared Values
Cohousing communities support residents in actualizing shared values.
Cohousing communities typically adopt green approaches to living.
Have you shared a meal with a neighbor lately?
When you travel are you able to arrange someone to pet-sit or water your garden easily?
Do your children play spontaneously outdoors with friends and neighbors without the concern of traffic?
Do you feel comfortable asking to borrow tools or ingredients from someone next door?
In a cohousing neighborhood, the answer to these questions is YES!
While we will become one of the first cohousing communities to be established in Ohio, there are over 165 communities already in place in the US alone, with over 130 more in the formation stages.
Established Cohousing Communities in The Midwest
Sunward Cohousing - Ann Arbor, MI http://www.sunward.org/
Touchstone Cohousing - Ann Arbor, MI http://www.touchstonecohousing.org/
Great Oak Cohousing - Ann Arbor, MI http://gocoho.org/
Monterey Cohousing - St. Louis Park, MN https://montereycohousing.com/
Check out the full list of established and forming communities in the US here.