Stories from Cohousing?

[Lisa Heft]

Greetings.

Some folks from a soon-to-be cohousing development are going
to be sharing and learning with Jeff and I in one of this
year's introductory level Open Space Technology trainings.

They are at that point where they are building community and
getting up to their membership goal -- once all the lots and
land parcels in their development are sold they will break
ground and the building of the structures will begin.

Of course, they are learning how to deal with each others'
little idiosyncrasies, financial 'hot buttons', personality
clashes and contrasting visions as well as their similar
interest in building a thoughtful community in a perfect
location.  They are at that universal juncture where
organizationally, it might be useful for the 'founders' and
'facilitators' imagery to shift to all of them being
'cofounders' and 'cofacilitators' -- always a nutritious and
challenging setting.

May I pass along to them some of your stories from using
Open Space in cohousing communities at different stages in
the development process as well as the use of Open Space as
an ongoing meeting process for the community?

Thank you (and the folks who requested this thank you, as
well)

Lisa


Lisa Heft
Berkeley
California
USA

And: for those of you who are unfamiliar with this term:



What is Cohousing?

(from  http://www.cohousing.org/resources/whatis.html)

Cohousing is the name of a type of collaborative housing
that attempts to overcome the alienation of modern
subdivisions in which no-one knows their neighbors, and
there is no sense of community. It is characterized by
private dwellings with their own kitchen, living-dining room
etc, but also extensive common facilities. The common
building may include a large dining room, kitchen, lounges,
meeting rooms, recreation facilities, library, workshops,
childcare.

Usually, cohousing communities are designed and managed by
the residents, and are intentional neighborhoods: the people
are consciously committed to living as a community; the
physical design itself encourages that and facilitates
social contact. The typical cohousing community has 20 to 30
single family homes along a pedestrian street or clustered
around a courtyard. Residents of cohousing communities often
have several optional group meals in the common building
each week.

This type of housing began in Denmark in the late 1960s, and
spread to North America in the late 1980s. There are now
more than a hundred cohousing communities completed or in
development across the United States.

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