Co-housing and Its Gaining Popularity in the United States

Co-housing is a type of shared living community that meets multiple aims of sustainable developments. As defined by the Co-housing Association of the United States; "Cohousing communities are old-fashioned neighborhoods created with a little ingenuity. They bring together the value of private homes with the benefits of more sustainable living. That means common facilities and good connections with neighbors. All in all, they stand as innovative answers to today's environmental and social problems."

From this definition a few sustainability issues should jump right out at you. First off lets address the impact of co-housing on land use and urban form. Co-housing takes existing developments and retrofits them to support more individuals, thus increasing density. The goal of co-housing is to increase density by creating shared facilities. Some might feel that the effects of increased density could be strongly felt with shared facilities, but this is done in such a manner that the people do not feel on top of each other, but along side each other.

Which brings us to another trait of co-housing, a greatly increased community capital. This occurs from a multitude of interactions which result in increased community capital. The minimization of the consumption of natural capital from the conservation of natural resources that occurs when from the shared facilities. By sharing kitchens and laundry services the wasted utilities are minimized and by sharing duties energy use is also minimized thus increasing natural capital. Also economic capital becomes strengthened. This is due to the affordability of co-housing, saving residents countless dollars in mortgages and services. Human capital becomes increased from the increases in health, education, and safety that accompany co-housing. These may not be as direct, but by creating a community which implores and necessitates that people work together, they are more prone to watching over one another and caring for each others well being. Finally the biggest impact on increasing community capital comes from the multiplied social capital which will come from co-housing. Co-housing requires a certain level of collaboration and partnerships which is guaranteed to bring the community closer together. This thoughts correlate with what Roseland supplies for "Strengthening Community Capital for Sustainable Community Development".

These reasons are why I believe co-housing has received an increase in popularity. By increasing community capital and thereby integrating a certain mindset of civic mindedness co-housing gives people peace of mind when it comes to sustainability. Their footprint is lowered and they feel more attacthced to the community. Additionally by working together within the shared facilities a certain burden is reduced that comes with owning and living in a private house, and that comes with knowing that you have like minded people working with you in the hopes of achieveing a common goal.

The following are a few websites for co-housing communities:


The Cohousing Company Architecture firm, with examples of cohousing neighborhoods, even offering cohousing neighborhoods

Pioneer Valley Cohousing, Amherst, Mass

Jackson Place Cohousing, Seattle, WA