Cohousing-L Mailing List: Cohousing for a college?

[LPAVESE (LPAVESE]

Hi. I have been a subscriber to the cohousing-l for about three weeks now
trying to get a feel for what you have been discussing. Since the recent
conference on cohousing people seem to have a renewed interest in some
philosophical issues related to cohousing, so I thought this might be an 
appropriate time to pose my question.  I am a student at Wellesley College
and as an architecture thesis I am exploring alternative living options for
the college.  Basically, Wellesley currently has available only dormitories
with 100 to 300 students living in buildings 4 to 5 stories high with long
narrow corridors.  Most of these dormitories were built during the early
20th century when there was an emphasis on surveillance (Wellesley is a women's
college) and where there was more structured communal life that happened.
Now, in the 1990s Wellesley has a strong emphasis on building community, but
there are a few problems:
        1. There is no *physical* structure to fascilitate that community -
           The dormitories rely heavily on the Residence Staff to "build
           community".
        2. Students feel alienated from the faculty and feel as though their
           academic, personal, and social lives are compartmentalized.
        3. Upperclasswomen want the experience of living on their own (say in
           an apartment) but still to be a part of a larger community.

I have been doing a lot of reading on cohousing, and I just visited Pioneer
Valley in Amherst, MA. I have been led to believe that some of the issues we
are dealing with on a college campus are being addressed by cohousing. I 
understand that we would not be able to create the experience of the group
planning process that seems to be foundational in cohousing and also that we
are dealing with a transient population of students, but I am interested in 
hearing your feedback on this idea.  What I am envisioning is a community of
20 to 30 students and faculty.

I would truly appreciate any comments or suggestions that you have. If you 
wouldlike more clarification (It has been difficult to summarize this briefly!) 
or
if you would like to respond to me personally you can email me at:
        
        lpavese [at] wellesley.edu

Thank you so much! 
Lori Pavese :)