Cohousing-L Mailing List: Work as basis of community

[Nancy R. Lyons (nlyons]

Thanks John Gear for asking: "What *would* we talk about if
building and financing weren't such a consuming passion?"    "yuppie bondage 
scene".

STUCK IN DENVER 
After several years of trying to help bring together
an urban coho project here in Denver, I've dropped back to ponder:
why has this not come together?  Great people...many possible
redevelopment sites...so what's the problem?  First, I concluded
that making the real estate and design process the vehicle for
"building community" was the wrong tack and, in fact, drained our
gut-level zeal about the whole thing.  Equally unsucessful was the
tack of scheduling meetings to talk "process" and "common values"
because everybody seemed to lapse into defensive positions and stall
out. You can't forge a bond by talking about how to forge a bond -
let's get real!  Most of us, despite our genuine yearning for the
"new way" are pretty entrenched in work modes and earning a living.

I am very committed to cohousing as a means to address our devastating 
loss of community, but IMHO the current "formulas" for establishing 
cohousing at best work only for a limited number of people, i.e., 
those willing to schlag through the drawn out process and at worst 
fail to address essential issues of the "community problem"

BACK TO THE BASICS
What's the driving force behind the cohousing effort?  The need for 
human connection.  Our fragmented society cries out for connection - a 
sense of place, a place in time, a family.  And another connection so 
long ago broken that it is often dismissed: the connection of work 
with family and community.  Most of us spend a pretty major chuck of our 
time doing Work (something that other people will pay us to do that 
sometimes but not-often-enough has some connection to family or 
friends or our personal spirit).  Which brings me to what I would like 
to explore:  

How can we make Work the basis for a cohousing community?

THE GROUP THAT WORKS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER
I'll put out a couple of initial thoughts:

1/ Self-employed people (like me) start by co-oping office space  
with other small business owners who they like, who have related or 
complimentary businesses, and who have similar needs for space and 
equipment. If that fits, then develop a mixed-use project with work 
and living space together.  

2/ If you already have a strong "work community", try to add a 
residential component. Buy your own warehouse downtown and convert it 
to lofts.

3/ What if your job doesn't fit with these concepts (like you work 
for the government)?  Quit that job (too many people working for the 
government anyway), analyse your skills, and start a new business 
with people you enjoy and respect and to whom you would loan your 
truck.


Nancy Lyons
Preservation Partnership
Denver