Cohousing-L Mailing List: how the built environment affects social interactions

[nancybtoo (nancybtoo]

Many cohousers will find this podcast interesting. The guest Eric Jacobsen talks
about how the physical structure of buildings and neighborhoods affects how
people come to know and interact with one another. Eric talks about growing up
in pre-WW I neighborhoods which were designed for walking and neighborliness. He
describes an apartment complex he lived in as a grad student where neighbors had
a level of interdependence that sounds like cohousing. They talk about the
importance of chance, unplanned meetings in building relationships.

As I was listening I was thinking CoHousing!! Yeah! We know that!
Strong Towns Podcast - Eric Jacobson
<http://shoutengine.com/StrongTownsPodcast/eric-jacobson-3663>

I also recommend that you poke around on the Strong towns website
http://www.strongtowns.org  I find many of their positions quite compelling. As
cohousers we can build a good neighborhood. But our neighborhood is still
embedded in larger neghborhoods and in a town, county, state, country, and
planet. The design and financial position of those layers affect us strongly.

I have started advocating for active transportation options in my town as a way
to create a healthier neighborhood for my cohousing community.

Nancy Baumeister Corvallis, Oregon
https://www.cohoecovillage.org/