Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: "What is (or isn't) cohousing" revisited.

[Rob Sandelin (Exchange) (Robsan]

The notion of Cohousing as "Resident Managed" clearly has a wide
latitude of possible interpretations.  Renters may very well never have
a controlling role over capital decisions, and so a renter community may
never really be fully Resident Managed in this case. However, what
exactly this means is subject to some debate.  If the residents choose
and operate the daily management decisions, such as child care, dinner,
maintaince and meeting structures, but have no say in capital decisions
(painting, building a community shed, etc.) what are the boundaries
which define cohousing regarding resident managed?

I continue to want to fall back to defining cohousing with some notion
of the residents having the expectation of a close community that works
cooperatively.  This would clearly separate out physical design issues
as a defining point (lots of condos could be called cohousing by their
pedestrian designs).  

Rob


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   If people at Vest Pocket rent rooms and have a resident manager, is
this
more like a dorm? Do they have any role in decision making other than
choosing whether or not they will do their chores on time without being
nagged? 
   I have spoken to people who are attempting to run low income housing
with
a make believe "community" of unwilling renters who have no real choices
or
imput. If they are successful in calling this "cohousing" then cohousing
will
become a curse word in certain communities as has "redevelopment". I
know
nothing about the group who built Vest Pocket, and I am not condemning
them
at all. 
   I am strongly in favor of MIXED INCOME housing, including offering
rentals
mixed in with owner occupied homes.