Cohousing

From Swikipedia

Introduction

Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods. It has a development pattern in which multiple (typically 8 to 30) privately owned houses or housing units are clustered together with some commonly owned spaces, such as a common workshop, greenhouse, etc. Automobiles are typically kept to the perimeter of the community, encouraging residents to walk and interact with the neighbours and creating a protected area within where children can play. Usually, residents are closely involved in all aspects of the development, from site selection to financing and design. Cohousing residents are consciously committed to living as a community.

Brief Description

Through spatial design and shared social and management activities, cohousing facilitates intergenerational interaction among neighbours, for the social and practical benefits. There are also economic and environmental benefits, through shared use of resources. As Cohousing members generally have a higher level of environmental awareness, communities often focus on incorporating green design elements and try to lighten their impact on the environment. Some cohousing communities upgrade existing structures by retrofitting with solar panels, weatherizing and utilizing permaculture landscape design.

Cohousing and Green Building Design: Example

An example of incorporating green building design features in a Cohousing community, is that of the McCamant & Durrett Architects who have successfully utilized some of the following green building features in their Cohousing projects: Urban infill, sustainably harvested lumber, passive solar orientation and shading, radiant flooring heating systems, fly ash in concrete, low water and energy use appliances and fixtures, sustainable flooring materials such as wool carpet and linoleum, wet blown recycled cellulose insulation, gypcrete flooring systems to provide thermal mass, pervious pathways and paving, passive cooling, permaculture landscape principles, active solar heating and waste stream management.

References:

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/glossary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohousing

http://www.cohousing.org/what_is_cohousing

http://www.cohousing.org/six_characteristics

http://extension.ucdavis.edu/unit/green_building_and_sustainability/pdf/resources/co_housing.pdf