Chicago Cohousing Network

An Introduction to Cohousing,
by Hal Mead, Secretary of the Chicago Cohousing Network

Cohousing is a type of housing started in Denmark in the early 1970′s. It is a way of fostering community on a small scale (generally 15-30 households). The news and success of cohousing in Denmark has spread over the years with cohousing communities being built in a number of other countries. There are now well over 5,000 people who live in these small communities.

The cohousing movement in the US began after Katherine McCammant and Charles Durrett, two architects from California, spent a year living in a number of these communities in 1985. They were so impressed with what they experienced that they wrote a book in 1988, Cohousing-A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. The book now in its 2nd edition has created interest all over the US with well over a 100 different groups exploring the possibility of cohousing for themselves. There are now over 100 cohousing communities that have either been completed, are now being built, or are being planned. A national magazine, Cohousing, has been created to keep track of many of the developments that are now taking place.

What separates cohousing from other forms of housing is the participation of members who help design the buildings, take responsibility in day to day management of the housing, and use common areas that are designed for daily interaction and use by its members-example common evening meals.

Although housing may be financed conventionally with each household paying their own mortgage, there is a commitment of members to take responsibility for management of the overall operation of the community and for aspects that help to support others with in the community such as child care.

The process of building community begins with a small core group long before there are any buildings. Through the process of meetings and social events the core group can get to know each other better, build the trust, and create an out reach program to attract others. This usually takes a minimum of several years.

When a household joins a cohousing community they are not just investing in housing for themselves. They are also investing in the community that they can both support and be supported by. The community provides an opportunity for people to take more responsibility for their own lives and for the lives of their neighbors.

In the Chicago area Ujima Place, the first cohousing development of 8 town houses was completed in the spring of 1997 by the residents in the Lawndale area on the west side of Chicago. The project was designed with the help of developer Perry Bigalow and the Lawndale Community Church for working poor. With the help of sweat equity and donations of some materials townhouses sell for around $30,000.

Here are two identical 9 acres tracts of land. The first plan, below, is what a typical developer might suggest.

Below is what a cohousing group in Seattle suggested for the same land.

The cohousing design eliminates many streets, clusters buildings, and provides more open spaces for community activities and a safer environment for children and the community as a whole.

Sounds good? Continue reading with A Short History of Cohousing.