Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Co-housing in Austin

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

Actually there is lots of work done in small-group dynamics.  There 
have been intentional commuinities around for 30 years or more which 
have served as labrotories for exactly this kind of learning.  The 
problem has largely been that these learnings are not widely known or 
investigated before cohousing groups embark upon their journey.  There 
is a whole field of psycology and training in small group dynamics with 
lots of published research and papers.  Again, this remains ignored by 
most of the cohousing movement.  There is an upcoming publication 
called A Cohousing Resource Guide which offers a beginning of an 
attempt to catalog some of these things.  As more is learned and shared 
this effort will grow into a definitive source book for these learnings.
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From:  <netmail!writings [at] MIT.EDU>
To: Rob Sandelin
Subject: Re: Co-housing in Austin
Date: Tuesday, February 22, 1994 10:23AM

Angela,
All of us are interested in how groups form. It's a pain in the
neck because so few people know enough about small-group dynamics
to spot people and communication problems when groups are forming.

Survivor of a failed group,
-Von Carts-Powell