Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: "Base Model" cohousing

[ELIZABETH BASCH (BASCHEL]

Just a quick thought before I return to lurking.  If you want to 
promote cohousing, and think the best way to do so is to emphasise 
the "mainstream aspects," go for it, and good luck.

But the main reason that people are involved in cohousing isn't 
because they want to promote it as a concept; it's because they 
really want to live someplace that feels more like home than most 
American housing does.  And, if it happens that the people who want 
cohousing also want to live in an environmentally sustainable way, or 
in diverse (or not-so-diverse) communities, than that's what they're 
going to try to build.  And you can't ask them to put in all the 
effort and stress and love that goes into building cohousing if 
they're just going to get something that *feels* like half a loaf 
compared to their dreams.

You can make a practical suggestion that if what people really want 
is cohousing, they should pass on some of the extras and get on with 
the "base model."  But it seems really strange to me that you are 
saying that it is *morally* superior to do so.  It's just a matter of 
tastes and what people's priorities are.

Elizabeth
(baschel [at] ksg1.harvard.edu)