McCamant Kathryn - Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities

Advance Praise for
Creating Cohousing

This book, by the founders of the cohousing movement in the United States, is a must read for anybody who wants or needs to know about cohousing. It serves those who want to learn about living in one, creating one, or just better understand how cohousing is driving positive change in the broader culture.

CRAIG RAGLAND, Executive Director,
Cohousing Association of the United States

In Creating Cohousing Kathryn McCamant and Chuck Durrett have done much more than bring the cohousing story up to date with the latest reports from both pioneer new communities. They have added valuable chapters on state of the art and best practices unique to cohousing design, development, and community building, and they have defined cohousings influence and role in the current cultural transition toward a more sustainable lifestyle.

JIM LEACH, President,
Wonderland Hill Development Company

Praise for
The Senior Cohousing Handbook
by Charles Durrett

Dive right into this book and be enriched by the insights and the wisdom you will find there. Im not kidding. Go. Now. Your future is waiting for you.

BILL THOMAS, MD, from the Prologue

Charles Durrett has written a book inviting an exciting eldership. Wouldnt it be great if every step of life had such thoughtful design?

PATCH ADAMS, MD, from the Foreword

Quality of life is more and more important in the last part of our life, and there is no need to live out our later years alone or lonely. Aging in place in community is an opportunity waiting for development; and cohousing the most creative housing option for seniors is one that we can make happen for us NOW, if we, as Chuck Durrett says, Go forth and be one with [our] own future.

BOLTON and LISA ANTHONY, Senior activists,
and founders of Second Journey

Creating
Cohousing

Building Sustainable Communities

Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett

Copyright 2011 by Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant.
All rights reserved.

Cover design by Diane McIntosh. Cover photos the authors.
Interior photos and illustrations the authors unless otherwise noted.

Printed in Canada. First printing April 2011.

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-672-8 eISBN: 978-1-55092-465-7

Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Creating Cohousing should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below.

To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America)1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com

Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:
New Society Publishers
P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada
(250) 247-9737

New Society Publishers mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. Our printed, bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-certified acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-certified stock. New Society also works to reduce its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely,visit our website at: www.newsociety.com

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

McCamant, Kathryn, 1959-

Creating cohousing : building sustainable communities / Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-86571-672-8

1. Housing, Cooperative--Europe. 2. Housing, Cooperative--North America. I. Durrett, Charles, 1955- II. Title.

HD7287.7.M33 2011 334.1 C2010-908103-X

To Jan Gudmand-Hyer,
who with vision, endurance,
and above all faith in his fellow citizens
played a critical role in the development of
cohousing communities.

Join the Conversation

Visit our online book club at www.newsociety.com to share your thoughts about Creating Cohousing . Exchange ideas with other readers, post questions for the author, respond to one of the sample questions or start your own discussion topics. See you there!

Appendices for Creating Cohousing ,
not included in the published version, are available at http://www.cohousingco.com/books/appendix/CCohousingAppendix.pdf. They include valuable information on creating cohousing such as: Why Developers Would be Interested in Cohousing, Grassroots Organizing, Group Process, Senior Cohousing and Frequently Asked Questions.

Contents

by Bill McKibben

F or helping to make this book possible, we thank the many hundreds of people living in cohousing communities with whom we talked, shared afternoon tea, ate dinner, and became especially well acquainted over late-night glasses of wine, when some of our best research was accomplished. For their hospitality, we give special thanks to the communities of Trudeslund and Skrplanet. To the pioneer American cohousing communities, we express our deepest appreciation and respect. They have demonstrated what vision and persistence can create. The communities that follow will benefit from their efforts. Most importantly, we thank the thousands of cohousers who have worked with us to help create their communities. You have taught us, forced us really, to hone our skills. The model projects you have created have done more to move this idea forward than anything else, and we hope that we have captured the essence of your communities accurately.

For their support during the original research for this book, we thank the Academy of Art and Architecture in Copenhagen and Erik Skoven of the Danish International Studies Program, the Architecture School in rhus, and the Danish Building Research Institute (particularly Hans S. Andersen), and most importantly Jan Gudmand-Hyer, the grandfather of cohousing and our mentor.

We could not have completed what is essentially a new book without the drawing, research, and writing assistance of the staff of McCamant & Durrett Architects (MDA), in particular Jennifer Barrett, planner extraordinaire, who not only planned us into success and completion, but edited us superbly and co-wrote key case studies like Yarrow and Belfast, as well as the design chapter. She was indispensable. Laura Levenberg, architect intern, also built on Jennifers planning and execution. It is our good fortune that they both work in our office, along with the rest of the talented MDA staff. Thanks also to Francesca Troiani, a writing intern, who interviewed the heck out of people. And to our editor, Mike Van Mantgem, who makes us more than a whimpering noise in the woods who gave us a direction, and a clearer voice. And to his lovely wife, Diane Durrett, for her engaging advice and consulting.

And, of course, to New Society Publishers, who knows that if were actually going to evolve as a society or become more sustainable, we have to learn so much. That if were going to build the viable society we know were capable of, and live to our full potential, then we have to grow. Weve seen others do it, and we can do it too. Thanks New Society and thanks to your editor Scott Steedman.