Cohousing-L Mailing List: Great Book!

[Mmariner (Mmariner]

For those of you cohousers seeking to broaden/deepen your thinking about
shared living, I'd like to suggest a wonderful source for ideas.  

Note:  this is unsolicited, uncompensated recommendation, motivated only by
enthusiasm!  The book's been plugged here before, but until I got a copy, I
didn't know how *holistically* helpful it is.  It's called

Rebuilding Community in America:  Housing for Ecological Living, Personal
Empowerment and the New Extended Family, by Ken Norwood and Kathleen Smith,
1995, The Shared Living Resource Center.

For about $25 you can get your copy from

The Shared Living Resource Center
2375 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94704

(510) 548-6608  

1-(800) 475-7572 for Visa/MC orders 

First of all, this book is no amateur production -- concept, writing,
printing, drawings, organization are of very high quality.  The authors
strike a balance between idealism and practicality, between motivational
prose and clear-headed description, between human considerations and
technical details.  400+ pages on 11" x 8-1/2" format.

Smith is a designer, writer and craftsperson.  Norwood is an architect.  Both
see and experience community as a vital cornerstone to make this culture
sustainable and livable.

The book celebrates the diversity of what's possible in creating livable
communities.  Although the authors lean toward adapting
structures/neighborhoods that are already in place, they don't waste verbiage
condemning other approaches.

"Rebuilding" starts with a portrayal of "Village Acre Community" - the new
American Dream, then go through the steps of what it takes to build your
unique species of community in your unique circumstances including

- Starting a Community
- The Village Cluster
- Rural Communities
- Community in the City
- Designing for Group Living
- The Celebration of Food
- Tools and Techniques 
- Rebuilding Community in America - from Extended Families to Eco
Villages/Eco Cities.

"Rebuilding Community" is at the same time warm and enjoyable and highly
informative.  For another $15-25 you can become a member of the Shared Living
Resource Center and get regular info from a group that is doing important
work in America and beyond.

People outside the US, there's a lot there for everybody -- it will be useful
in other cultures similar to America.

Mike Mariner
Boulder CO