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What Makes CoHousing Different?
(reprinted from Nashville CoHousing Members Newsletter)
We have heard questions like, "I have a great community in my neighborhood/condo complex/apartment building. What makes it different from CoHousing?"
According to The CoHousing Network, there are six defining characteristics of CoHousing:
1. Participatory Process. The future residents of a CoHousing neighborhood design the neighborhood. They might work with a developer, but the vision is developed together.
2. Neighborhood Design. The neighborhood practically forces community on you. You cannot get from your car to your house without running into one of your neighbors. Houses face one another and feature front porches and windows so that you can monitor the neighborhood as you prepare your dinner.
3. Common Facilities. Sure, condo complexes and some neighborhoods might have some common space, but in CoHousing, it is used by the whole neighborhood all the time.
4. Resident Management. The residents decide what their homes look like, what amenities are included or added, and also share in the general upkeep of the buildings and grounds.
5. Non-Hierarchical Structure. There is no "Board of Directors" or staff that decides what is going on. Everyone has input and everyone has to help out.
6. No Shared Community Economy. No one earns a living from the neighborhood. Although some neighborhoods might feature amenities such as a child-care center, or a coffee shop, these are self sustaining ventures.
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About cohousing
