Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Personal Crusade - "units"

[tommoench (tommoench]

<The existing housing on Andersen Lane consists of a combination of 6 single
family houses and 6 buildings with 2, 3 or 4 apartments. Units happens to be
one of the few terms that I can think of that easily allows counting both

Houses, apartments, studios all have two things in common, they contain
"households" and  are "homes" to the occupants.  It is quite easy to refer to
any of them by these terms and count them that way.  If you are trying to
distinguish apartments that are rented from houses (i.e., single family,
attached-, row or whatever) that are bought - then use the proper designation
-- apartment versus house.  

The point is practical--resale.  Ask any realtor if they would rather try to
sell a unit or a house/home? Or, ask a potential member if they would rather
live in a unit or a home?  

< I have seen criticism in the other direction for refering to 
something like "newly built homes" rather than "newly built houses" (they
only become homes when they are occupied appropriately).

Substitute "newly built units" or "newly built dwelling units" for the above
phrases.  What does that conjure up for you?  Personally, I still am more
attracted to "newly built home" over "newly build house"  because that is the
vision I have for the structure - whatever its form -- it is more homey to
me.

<Has a similar attitude befallen WCG?  What is WCG ?  Tom, did you write this
for a local newsletter or something?

Yes, I wrote the essay for my my neighbors in the Moji community here on
Bainbridge Island, Washington, the home of WCG -- the Winslow Cohousing
Group, the legal association that governs Moji.  .  We have had some
difficulty reselling homes to prospective members; partly the economy, partly
because we are a work in progress, partly because people (both in and outside
 cohousing) still think in terms of comparing square footage to square
footage and miss promoting the larger social context and benefits.  We do not
explain it well and the use of "unit" is one of those jargon terms that
simply, in my opinion, does not contribute to better understanding of
cohousing.