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Cohousing started in Denmark in the early seventies when dual income professionals were searching for better daycare and a safer neighborhood. It has matured into a intergenerational mix of family types, attractive to young families, single parents, as well as retired couples and singles. Nearly 200 projects have been completed in Denmark since the first was finished in 1972. More than 20 have been built in North America since 1991, and more than 150 groups are meeting regularly trying to make their projects happen.
Cohousing is a synthesis of several of the best features of multifamily housing, limited in size to a range of 12 to 40 units. It is designed and often developed by the residents who will live there, centered around the concept of balancing community and privacy in an old fashioned village.
Due to limited government support for the early projects they have tended to be market rate housing rather than low income. However, in Denmark much of the cohousing that is currently being developed is government sponsored rental or cost controlled affordable ownership.
Cohousing developments vary in size, location, type of ownership, design, and priorities. The common characteristics are:
- Participatory Process: Future residents participate in the planning and design of their community. They are responsible as a group for most of the final design decisions.
- Intentional Neighborhood Design: The physical design encourages a strong sense of community. With central pedestrian walkways or village greens, cars are generally relegated to the edge of the project, and sometimes to underground parking structures.
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 Private Homes & Common Facilities: Communities are generally designed to include significant common facilities, however, all residents also own their own private homes - with kitchens. As an integral part of the community, common areas are designed for daily use, to supplement private living areas.
- Resident Management: Unlike a typical condominium homeowner's association, residents in cohousing usually manage their own community after move in, making decisions of common concern at regular community meetings.
- Nonhierarchical Structure and Decision Making: They say, "there are leadership roles, but not leaders in cohousing." Decisions are made together, as a community, often using decision making models such as consensus, or sociocracy.
- Cohousing is NOT... There is no shared income in cohousing. Employment and business endeavors are privately organized. Common ideologies and charismatic leaders are generally not a part of cohousing. And of course, cohousing is not like a commune.
Design Considerations for Successful Cohousing
Cohousing is usually designed as clustered multifamily housing where each home is self sufficient, with private living, dining, and kitchen areas. Unlike housing built by a developer, a single cohousing project may have many unit types, ranging from studios to four or five bedrooms. Cohousing is often designed with more compact and efficient living units in order to leave as much open space for natural areas, gardens and recreation as possible.
Parking is segregated to the edge of the community, or possibly under the buildings, as at Trillium Hollow. Pedestrian circulation is designed to encourage interaction with neighbors. Private entries are located off pedestrian streets, pathways, and courtyards, allowing for a safe environment for children as well as gathering places for adults.
Smaller, more efficient private units accommodate a larger "common house" typically programmed to include daycare, laundry and dining facilities. Since prioritizing the common uses is done by the residents prior to construction, rarely does a common house include personal recreational uses. Residents often choose to include amenities such as a kitchen and dining area, children's play areas, a library or lounge, and workshop facilities.
Ownership
As a matter of legal and financial convenience, most cohousing communities in North America have chosen the condominium legal ownership structure, known as strata title in Canada. This is due, primarily, to the expectations of lenders. For most people it's important to make sure that you can get a mortgage.
Many would prefer to be organized as cooperative housing associations, since this tends to be more consistent with the goals of shared resources and the experience of community. A small number of groups have successfully adopted the cooperative ownership structure when they were able to locate the required financing.
Winslow Cohousing and the first two neighborhoods at
the Ecovillage in Ithaca are the only cooperatively
owned cohousing community that we are aware of in the
United States.
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