I The Cohousing Association welcomes blog posts from anyone in the cohousing movement

There’s a lot of high-tech, computer-managed, log-keeping, badge-triggered access and security technology available for buildings — but in the US, it’s unusual to find such advanced systems serving moderately-priced residential properties. At Cornerstone Cohousing, 23 of our 32 units are in one of two apartment-style buildings, each of which has common spaces and amenities. The… Read More

Several months ago there was a blog suggesting that “seniors” should look for cohousing communities in urban areas. While I understand the blogger’s reasons (having lived in cities, suburbs and rural areas), I’d like to offer an alternative for retirement or pre-retirement living. My cohousing neighbors here in rural North Carolina will tell you that… Read More

Plans are underway for our 2nd annual National Cohousing Open House Day, the last Saturday in April. Such synergy we created last year – as a national movement, within our network of area communities, and within our individual communities! We enjoyed participation from 95 communities across the country who opened their doors and welcomed the… Read More

David Brooks writes in the NY Times (Jan 6) that buying a home is the most difficult decision in life. We don’t choose a house so much as fall in love with it, he writes, and although we may envision a home with exotic things in which we will host large gatherings, most folks really… Read More

Social Permaculture, Public vs Private is the theme of the winter issue of Communities Magazine, exploring among other issues how “relationships with one another are just as sustainable, regenerative, and resilient as the ecological elements in a land-based permaculture system.” Click here for this article profiling how permaculture’s principles apply to human groups. And come… Read More

Join Laird at the 2017 National Cohousing Conference where he will present several sessions, including Power and Leadership. I’m starting a blog series spotlighting the concept of power in cooperative culture. In the context of group dynamics—my main arena—power has to do with how people interrelate, but I want to start with the individual before… Read More

After World War Two, my grandmother and her husband fled Hungary as refugees to New York City with nothing but their suitcases. They got jobs at an assembly line in a paper cup factory and toiled for many years towards the American Dream. But their dream was cut short when my grandfather suddenly died of… Read More

Ten Tips for Success in Building a Cohousing Community By Marty Maskall, Founder & Future Resident, Fair Oaks EcoHousing, 12-3-16 1. Join if you can! It’s much easier to join an existing community than to start a new one. 2. Appreciate the efforts of others who start a community – they need our support. 3…. Read More

There’s a prevalent style of facilitation that’s mostly passive—where the person running the meeting isn’t doing much more than deciding who’ll talk next, punctuated by the occasional need to blow the whistle, perhaps to signal that time has expired or to announce a restart, either to referee moments of fulminating tension or to cut through… Read More

As we near the end of 2016, we who are so lucky to live in community have much to be grateful for; most importantly: good, caring neighbors who are willing to actively engage in the process of creating great neighborhoods to grow up in, and to age in. As we ponder the state of the… Read More