Cohousing-L Mailing List: social engineering in cohousing

[MLYNCHIN (MLYNCHIN]

In a message dated 05.29.98 7:19:34 PM, you wrote:

<<It seems to me that in site design, one shouldn't be too rigid with 
the social engineering. 
>>

hear, hear. Besides site design, my perception is that social engineering
seems to creep in in other aspects of cohousing/community development. How do
folks feel about *social engineering* to fit the textbook definition of
"cohousing," rather than *spontaneous* community development that defines a
community of cohousers? Would a mission statement for the community be a
better tool in which to define the community than a set of
rules/regs/policies? Are there any anecdotes?

Marilyn Chin, Old Oakland CoHousing in Oakland, CA which just went through
groundbreaking. We move in in 14 months.