Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Seniority-Much Ado About Nothing

[Diane Simpson (coho]

I like the ideas expressed in your letter Liz. I think you raise some very
valid points. It does seem frustrating that the banks and mortgage lenders
control so much of the housing development process that people with high
ideals cannot accomplish what they set out to do.

But there are encouraging signs along the way. I was recently invited to
have a cohousing table at the Boston Redevelopment Authority's Roxbury
master plan charrette without even having asked to attend. Roxbury is
primarily a low-income section of Boston. The fact that the big,
conservative, stodgy development agencies are even thinking about cohousing
for low-income areas is a good sign.

I will be there (Roxbury Community College) from 9-2 this Saturday November
4 in case anyone in the Boston area wants to stop by.

--Diane(:^]
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>What does it say about a popular movement when nearly all of those with
>moderate incomes are excluded? When a 720 square foot unit sells for a
>quarter of a million dollars, it says to me that it ain't no popular
>movement. It's a fashion trend. As much as I love my community, I think we
>are nearly alone in our commitment to something besides our own pocketbooks.
>Cohousing has become an excellent investment strategy, but it's not what I
>had hoped it would be by now. I had hoped that once it was more accepted in
>mainstream society, it would be easier for people to follow their ideals,
>but it has simply become faster to build, at the expense of everything else
>worthy about the idea.

>Liz Stevenson
>Southside Park Cohousing
>Sacramento, California

    @@                 coho [at] world.std.com                   @@
   @@@@       Diane Simpson  http://jpcohousing.org        @@@@
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