Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: site selection musings

[Sharon Villines (sharonvillines]

> north of the common house [snip]  The mood is serene, almost eerie in its
> quiet and lack of interaction.
> 
> south of the common house [snip] is where all the action is.  For the few
> seniors who live in "kidland" it has been difficult (noise and clutter
> issues).  
> 
> it would have been impossible, and probably
> not advisable to socially engineer who lives by who...but it does make me
> wonder why we were so blindsided.

With the exception of the one family with a toddler who is isolated from the
other toddlers, this division seems to work for people--how would you change
it?. 

A major social issue in the coming years will be working out a balance for
this type of division. We are living with an increasing age spread of 100
years. Within that age spread, there are many different lifestyles and
opportunities. With each decade of life, different things become possible
and desirable. I adore living in a  home with no children as much I adored
living on a block with 45 kids when I was a kid. With people being able to
choose serene or child centered, you have a much more complex community with
less daily friction.

The desire for diversity conflicts with the desire for sympatico. As one of
our members said recently in a discussion of what people found offensive
hung on front doors or displayed in windows, "You got me because you wanted
diversity, now you want be to be like everyone else."

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
In Washington, DC where all roads lead to Casablanca
Takoma Village Cohousing
http://www.takomavillage.org
http://www.cohousing.org