Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Re: Making Good Designs

[Harry Pasternak (Harry_Pasternak]

Daniel
Lots of mythology about so-called "professionals" floating by here:

* There are 8000 investment clubs-- the average return on investments for 62%
of these "non-professional" groups is better than the S&P 500! 

* Read Peter Lynch's "Beating The Street" and you will find that a group of
12 year olds, after 2 years, produced a gain of 70% on their investment
portfolio, while the S&P gained only 26% in the same time frame! The 12 year
olds outperformed 99% of all equity mutual funds which are all managed by the
"professionals" your suggesting! "Professionals" are a myth--an expensive
myth.

* Go do some reading on "non-obtrusive" research methods--it helps to
understand what I am talking about--if you are an architect, it just goes to
prove my point--it sounds like you have never seen any research, whereby
people living in a cohousing community were asked directly or indirectly
whether the project satisfied their needs. I am not asking for social
research people to design cohousing neighborhoods--I am asking for architects
who actually  understand the dynamics of creating community, by appropriate
design. The question is--are there any architects who know how to do it, in
North America? If so --who? Please send names for a conference the Institute
will sponsor.

Harry Pasternak
Thousand Islands Institute
The Independent Centre For Housing Research & Education
(Harry_Pasternak [at] tvo.org)

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