Cohousing communities are reinventing the way some Americans live and boosting their health and happiness in the process.
by Shelley Levitt illustrations by Rebecca Jones
On a warm summer evening, some two it clear that the ties that bind this dozen people are gathered for a potluck eclectic group aren’t all familial. dinner in the garden of the two-block Instead, the members of this Los Angeles Eco-Village, which sits on lively party all belong to a new kind the edge of the city’s Koreatown of neighborhood. The Los Angeles district. Enjoying salads, grilled veggies Eco-Village is a cohousing community and pasta, along with wine and and home to 55 people. According to the homemade fruit punch, they perch on Cohousing Association of the United folding chairs in a clearing between a g States, it’s one of 162 so far with another bush and a magnolia tree, not far from 126 in the planning stages. the outdoor solar oven, chicken coop A form of collaborative living, and trellises that are heavy with cohousing offers a nurturing alternative tomatoes. From the range of ages—3 to to suburban isolation or urban 79—and the ease of the chatter, this has anonymity. The residents run the the feeling of a family get-together. But community collectively, sharing the mix of ethnicities and accents make responsibilities and chores and making
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decisions by consensus. “The human have a 6 a.m. ight, there’s someone species is tribal in nature, but through who wants to take me to the airport,” generations of culture change, we’ve lost Alice says. “But this is a caring and that tribal instinct,” says Lois Arkin, sharing community. We can count on who founded the neighborhood more each other.” There are weekly movie than 20 years ago. “Cohousing nights and group dinners, and every communities restore the human Cohousing communities can be evening at least a half-dozen residents connections that we all crave.” urban, like the Los Angeles Eco-Village gather for happy hour on the roof. These custom neighborhoods are far or Takamo Village Cohousing in Residents seem to ourish amid from communes. Each household has its Washington, D.C., where 90 people— all this support and sociability. In a own private home, complete with from newborn to 90 years old—live in survey conducted by the Cohousing kitchen. But residents also share a large 43 townhouses and apartments that are getting around—biking, walking or Research Network, 96 percent of common house, which is the heart of clustered around a central piazza. public transportation—are encouraged. 528 respondents across 80 cohousing the community. It typically includes a Many are in suburbs or small towns, Lowering reliance on cars is key to communities said their lives had big kitchen and dining room, guest such as Delaware Street Commons in keeping the members of these improved since becoming cohousing rooms, a children’s playroom, and areas Lawrence, Kansas. Here 45 homes are microneighborhoods connected. Alice residents and three out of four felt their for workshops and meetings. linked by pedestrian walkways and each Alexander is the director of the physical health was better than others Opportunities for engagement home has a front porch that faces the nonpro t Cohousing Association of the their age. None of this would surprise abound, from working in the garden to common area. A few cohousing United States. She and her husband are community psychologist William cooking community meals or taking communities are in rural areas. The members of the Durham Central Park Berkowitz, Ph.D., professor emeritus at part in resident-led workshops in 29-home community of Nubanusit Cohousing Community, a four-story the University of Massachusetts at sewing, woodworking, yoga or even how Neighborhood & Farm in Peterborough, building in downtown Durham, North Lowell, who believes that close-knit to home-brew small batches of craft New Hampshire, sits on 113 acres Carolina, where 39 residents live in 24 neighborhoods ful ll a vital human beer. Most of all, there’s a feeling that of farmland, elds and woodlands condominiums. “I spent most of my life function. “The need for connection your neighbors have your back and are with trails, a pond and nearly a mile living in Northern Virginia suburbs with other people and for community is there when you need them. of riverfront. where I didn’t know my neighbors,” wired into our biology,” he says. “We Jessica Ruvalcaba, an early-education Alice says. “You drove into your evolved from animals that lived and schoolteacher, lives here with her Using Less to Live More carport, went into your house and you husband and their 5-month-old son, Eli. Living sustainably is a core value of never saw anyone.” The hallways at “When Eli was born, people brought me cohousing communities. They’re Alice’s building are wide and airy, with home-cooked meals for two weeks,” she typically built with energy-ef cient benches and libraries tucked into nooks says, “and my neighbor Carol did my materials and devote much of their and crannies. It’s a design that laundry. I love that Eli has an extended acreage to green space. Cars are encourages people to linger and chat. community of siblings, and I have a banished to the periphery of the Relationships aren’t forged only group of parents I can lean on.” property and alternative forms of through chance encounters. Like other communities, Durham Central Park maintains a digital bulletin board where Durham, North Carolina people can post anything from an invitation to take a stroll to the Saturday farmers market to a request for a heating pad after a bicycle spill or a lift to the airport. “I’m always amazed that when I PHOTOGRAPHS: THIS PAGE, COURTESY OF LOS ANGELES ECO-VILLAGE; COURTESY OF DURHAM COHOUSING; OPPOSITE, COURTESY OF COHOUSING SOLUTIONS PHOTOGRAPHS: THIS PAGE,
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roamed in clans, sought food together were always outside playing, and protected each other. There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that when people everybody knew each other have strong social networks their sense of and there was a real social life well-being and their physical health improves; cross-cultural research even in the streets.” —Kathryn McCamant shows that people live longer.” Denver, where kids were always provides a happiness boost. Also Cohousing’s outside playing, everybody knew each heightening well-being, as stacks of Danish Roots other and there was a real social life in studies found, is exposure to nature. In the early 1980s, Kathryn McCamant the streets.” Katie and Chuck A recent large Canadian study, for and Charles Durrett—Katie and Chuck returned to Copenhagen in 1984 and example, showed that having 10 or more to their friends—were young married spent a year studying bofællesskab. In trees on a block confers a health boost architects beginning to think about 1988, they published their rst book, that’s the equivalent of being seven starting a family. Already they found Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to years younger. themselves coming home from busy Housing Ourselves. While they were And so the design of the typical workdays exhausted. Their relatives lived writing the volume, they were also cohousing community, where most across the country and their friends designing Muir Commons in Davis, of the acreage is devoted to shared across town. Just getting together with California. In 1991, it was the rst green space while pathways and front a friend for coffee was a challenge. built-from-the-ground-up cohousing porches encourage socializing, can How would they be able to raise kids? community in the U.S. be a blueprint for happiness. They remembered a type of Muir Commons is still going Katie and Chuck, who have a now development called a bofællesskab (living strong today, with 45 adults and 25-year-old daughter, live in Nevada community) that they had visited when 35 children living in 26 homes that sit City Cohousing, which is an hour they were studying architecture in on just under three acres. The homes, north of California’s capital city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Since the 1960s, with private kitchens and private Sacramento. It’s one of more than a mix of young families and empty yards, range in size from 808 to 1,381 50 cohousing communities, or nesters, singles and single parents square feet. That size is pretty typical “intentional neighborhoods,” as Katie had been forming these self-reliant of cohousing communities and goes likes to say, that the couple have neighborhoods that allowed people against the trend of homes in the designed or consulted on. Nevada City to support each other through the U.S. getting signi cantly larger each has 34 townhouses on 10 acres, six of challenges of every stage of life, from decade. According to Census Bureau which are devoted to open space. childcare to eldercare. gures, the average size of homes There’s an organic veggie garden and “What we saw in Denmark made so being built in America rose from 1,725 chickens, a swimming pool and hot tub. much sense,” Katie says. “These square feet in 1983 to 2,095 in 1993 Footpaths lead to the nearby historic communities reminded me of the and, a decade later, to 2,330 square town. Residents have community neighborhoods where I grew up in feet. In 2013, the most recent year of dinners six nights a week. People are data collection, homes averaged just free to join or to skip, but everybody has under 2,600 square feet. a responsibility to cook a meal once House size isn’t linked to every ve weeks. Katie and Chuck happiness, according to Elizabeth usually take part in these group dinners Dunn, Ph.D., a professor of three or four times a week. psychology at the University of British “Cohousing is a really good life,” Columbia and co-author of Happy Katie says. “What it addresses is that Money: The Science of Happier while we’re living closer and closer Spending. What really matters, she together, we’ve become a very isolated says, is the extent to which our houses society. There’s a sense of security and facilitate positive social interactions. safety, emotionally and physically, that Living in a place where you comes from being part of something
PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF BRYAN BOWEN, CADDIS ARCHITECTURE; INSETS, ATOMJOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY. BOWEN, CADDIS ARCHITECTURE; INSETS, ATOMJOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF BRYAN naturally bump into your neighbors
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larger than yourself. You’re surrounded the friends?’ That was a moment of by people you can call on in a time epiphany for me. I realized that of need. And, there’s much more my kids were growing up with the spontaneity in day-to-day life. You run expectation that wherever you go, into people and say, hey, do you want to there should be a whole bunch of fun, go hiking on Sunday? It doesn’t take interesting people right outside the 10 emails and texts.” door. That’s how the world is for them.” engage in conversation with us. That’s so unheard of in American society. It really Living Collaboratively A Vertical struck me as a healthier way to live in Boulder, Colorado Community in Seattle through all stages of life. From raising In 2000, Bryan Bowen was part of a Grace Kim and her husband, Mike your kids to growing old, the community team of architects working to design Mariano, are founders and architects takes care of a lot of needs without having Wild Sage, a cohousing community of of Capitol Hill Urban Housing. It’s a to turn to outside interventions.” Ways to Strengthen 34 townhouses in Boulder, Colorado. compact cohousing community in a In these rst months at Capitol Hill, 4 Developing a cohousing community takes dense Seattle neighborhood; there are there have been some con icts, like the Ties in Your Neighborhood several years and requires active and nine homes and a 1,600-square foot prolonged dispute over what should be Not ready to move to a cohousing collaborative decision-making among its rooftop farm in a newly built ve-story served at the thrice-weekly community community? You can still create a deeper members. “Everybody has a voice and building. Grace and Mike, along with meals. Residents took positions from sense of connection with your neighbors. feels heard,” Bryan says. “And, as they’re their 8-year-old daughter Ella are demanding meals be vegan to diehard Psychologist William Berkowitz, Ph.D., accomplishing something really cool, the among the 28 residents—17 adults carnivores who wanted to slaughter their professor emeritus at the University of group develops very strong decision- and 11 kids—who moved in just a few own game. In the end, after many sessions Massachusetts at Lowell, offers four tips. making and con ict-resolution skills that months ago. that were guided by a consensus-building they can use in creating a community Like Katie and Chuck, Grace and facilitator, Grace says, “we all recognize 1. GET TO KNOW THE NEIGHBORS ON once they move in.” Mike spent time in Copenhagen that the meals are a big part of building YOUR STREET. “It’s a simple thing, but By the time Wild Sage was completed studying cohousing communities, community and we are committed to I make a point of greeting my neighbors whenever I see them,” says William, who 12 years ago, Bryan and his wife, Dale thanks to a fellowship Kim received making meals for each other that are lives in a suburb outside Boston. “And every Deegan, then pregnant with their rst in 2004 from the University of nutritious and delicious.” In practical year at holiday time I bake cookies for my son, Eli, were among the residents Washington. For Kim, who is Korean- terms that means meat can be offered neighbors and bring them over.” moving in. Eli’s younger brother, Jesse, American, the intergenerational as an additive to a meal but not as the was actually born in the living room of bofællesskab was familiar and main ingredient. 2. JOIN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL their home, with the aid of a midwife comforting. “In Korean culture,” she A great deal of energy has been devoted NETWORK. Nextdoor.com serves more who’s a member of the community and says, “it’s common to have grandparents to making these types of group decisions. than 100,000 neighborhoods across the has helped deliver a half dozen other Wild living with you. They’re an important “Someone once said that cohousing is the country. People can post about anything Sage babies. “I can’t imagine leaving part of the family. That’s very different most expensive self-help workshop you’ll from garage sales to safety alerts. Wild Sage,” Bryan says. “I can’t imagine from Western culture where kids don’t ever take,” Grace says with a laugh. Still, raising my kids any other way. It’s hard have a lot of elders in their lives.” Capitol Hill’s mix of residents—physicists 3. CREATE A FREE LIBRARY ON YOUR enough as it is. Having the support of an In the cohousing communities that and computer scientists, a magazine BLOCK. All it takes is a box or a crate and a sign that says, “Take a book, leave a book.” interdependent community makes Grace and Mike visited in both executive, a librarian, husband-and-wife You can nd out more about how to start parenthood so much more interesting Copenhagen and later in the United retired teachers who love going for these free book exchanges at the website and rich.” States, she saw a vibrant alternative. “A long-distance rides on their tandem for the nonpro t littlefreelibrary.org. And it makes for a secure childhood, 5-year-old would be happy to crawl up bicycle—“have all remarked how living too. Bryan remembers renting a home in into anyone’s lap, whatever their age,” here is better than we could have 4. LAUNCH A NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK Florida for a family beach vacation when she says. “And there were meaningful imagined,” Grace says. “The ease and PARTY. “In my neighborhood, people move Eli was 3 years old. After they pulled up relationships among unrelated people joy with which gatherings take place furniture into the middle of a side street, to the house and unloaded the car, Eli across generations. Teenagers were is remarkable. I never want to live everybody brings food and there are games ran outside, saying he was going to often lingering after dinner, wanting to anywhere else.” like human chess and checkers,” William explore. He made a loop around the big says. Porchfest is a new kind of block party, grassy front yard, then came back inside. where local bands and musicians perform on neighborhood front porches and people “He looks totally confused,” Bryan TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COHOUSING, VISIT COHOUSING.ORG. MANY COMMUNITIES, WHICH YOU’LL FIND LISTED IN THE DIRECTORY, walk or bike from one porch to another. recalls. “He says, ‘Daddy, where are all WELCOME CURIOUS GUESTS FOR TOURS OR EVEN OVERNIGHT STAYS. PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF GRACE H. KIM, SCHEMATA WORKSHOP INC. PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF GRACE H. KIM, SCHEMATA
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