Cohousing-L Mailing List: Terminology to use regarding Cohousing

[Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community (cohousing]

Hello everyone,

As we market our cohousing project to the public and speak to bankers, city 
staff and other professionals there seems to be a real problem in conveying 
what we are building.

We have discovered that the words commonly used in cohousing circles seem 
to confuse people.

Cohousing: Conjures up visions of communal living without privacy
Common House: Suggests we must eat together because no-one has kitchens, or 
we really do share one big house
Members :Means you have to join a cult or subscribe to a philosophy
Units: Sounds like we have apartments for rent
Community: Is that a closed group, or are you referring to the whole City?
Eco, green, sustainable, organic, solar, geothermal, consensus...Yikes...It 
must be for hippies!


The list seems endless, so I am wondering what terminology other groups 
have used to market the project so that it is not dismissed as too unusual 
or too risky an investment.

The banks seem to have real trouble viewing cohousing in a positive light. 
They don't see that the common house is not very different from a 
clubhouse, which they gladly accept in all the mainstream seniors 
developments. Some are afraid to lend money to prospective residents, and 
have come up with strange reasons such as the common house has a kitchen, 
so they aren't interested.

Why does cohousing seem so scary to lenders and to some prospective 
residents? Is the terminology part of the problem? A long-time cohousing 
resident suggested that we need to use mainstream language when dealing 
with professionals, and speak more of townhouse or condo units with an 
added amenity building, and maybe not even mention the word cohousing.

What  was your experience when marketing and getting financing? Did you use 
different terminology for each audience? Did it change again once the 
project was built and everyone could see what cohousing really is all about?

Looking forward to your feedback,
Susana Michaelis
Pacific Gardens Cohousing Community
Nanaimo, BC