Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Is the term Cohousing hurting us?

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

To change the label at this time would take away and obscure the 
identity of what is happening.  I do not think it is the label 
Cohousing keeping us out of national press (we did get a major NPR 
story last year) but the small and insignificant size of our 
accomplishments.  When 100 cohousing developments have people living in 
them (1998?) then we will have a large enough accomplishment to be able 
to trumpet from the rooftops.

Cohousing is not a trend yet, it is an anomaly.  The world moves on 
around us, largely unaware of our work  to improve neighborhoods. This 
is OK for now. In a future national cohousing gathering, say about 
1999, a group of us will pull together a national strategy for 
advertising and promotional efforts.  But until then, it is a bit to 
early to try national scale, if for no other reason, the energy isn't 
great enough yet.  Cohousing is still very experimental, and we don't 
really understand what we have, nor what we are doing yet.  We are 
still in the prototype stage, and have several models and approaches, 
all valid, all working.  We are slowly building a cadre of 
professionals and consultants, and a core of evangalizers, people who 
have seen the light of the better way to live and who will testify.

Clearly we are identifying major areas in architecture, personal 
skills, group relationships where we are learning important lessons, 
lessons and skills we will teach the greater society.  But we have only 
just begun, and have many more lessons to learn, and a level of 
maturity to achieve, before we can be effective and accepted.

I think major national publicity at this time, would focus too much on 
what is now, and this would define cohousing by what exists now, which 
is only a small fraction of what cohousing really will and can be.  The 
eco-village at Ithaca, just to name one of many flavors, has not yet 
been built.  The recycled materials and eco- approach of March Commons 
has only just begun.  What innovations and lessons will the next 
generation of cohousing bring?  When we make our message, we would do 
well to show the variety of what we are doing.  Diversity of definition 
will attract a diversity of interests.  One of the strengths of 
cohousing is that places like Winslow and Sharingwood are both 
cohousing, and offer very different housing approaches, which attract 
very different types of people.

I think national publicity is premature at this point.  Let Newsweek 
pass us by for now.  Then in the future, when we are ready and have a 
national organization to drive our message, we can craft coverage, not 
as PART of alternative neighborhoods, but as the definition, in feature 
articles, well crafted advertising campaigns, and even in the TV medium.

Rob Sandelin
Puget Sound Cohousing Network
Building a better society, one neighborhood at a time