Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Alienation in housing caused by the rich and powerful?

[Bob Morrison (morrison]

On 3-Sept. "Craig D. Willis" <willic3 [at] rpi.edu> wrote:

>But one thing that I
>am very aware of is that cohousing has the potential to be a threat to
>powerful vested interests in our society.  I do *not* expect the
>status quo elements of our society... those who profit from the
>powerlessness and alienation that has been engineered for the masses
>in terms of their living (e.g. housing) choices... to be supportive of

  What evidence do you have that the alienation most of us (non-cohousers)
are experiencing in our living arrangements has been DELIBERATELY imposed on
us by the rich and powerful? What would be the motivation for them to create
this alienation?
  I think this alienation has occurred as a side effect of developers,
bankers, etc. considering housing a "commodity", not as a deliberate plan
of some sort.

>our efforts to find alternatives to the straightjacket we've been ever
>more solidly confined in for the entirety of this century.

  Please tell us more about this "straitjacket". I do feel that we are in a
straitjacket in the sense that people only have two choices: to build new
single-family houses (which are beyond the means of many people and too large
and alienating for single-person households) or to accept the designs of
others in condos and apartments. Cohousing is the first housing model I have
heard of for multi-family housing in which the residents have control over
the design of the structures and grounds.
  I think the powerful (bankers, town planning boards, etc.) DO often oppose
cohousing, but do so mainly due to fear of the new and unconventional, not due
to a deliberate scheme to create alienation.