Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re:Streets and Driveways

[Joani Blank (jeblank]

Why yes, Thomas, it does look different to a stranger. First, it looks
different because people going in and out of their houses are walking to
their bikes or cars through the common outdoor area, usually greeting every
single neighbor they see and perhaps stopping to talk to one or several on
their way in and out of the community. When the weather is warm, folks often
have their windows and doors open. People are always walking--or running in
the case of kids--back and forth to one another's houses, and in and out of
the common house. I suppose there would be times like late at night, or in
the middle of a weekday when almost everyone is at work or school, when a
stranger couldn't tell the difference, but with more people working at home
these days, even then the place isn't deserted. With only twelve units at
Doyle Street, three of us single people work at home, a fourth works mostly
at home, and one person is at home all the time because she is retired and
ill. There are other qualiities of the way a cohousing community feels in
relation to this that I can't quite put into words. Perhaps others will have
something to say about this.

Joani Blank
Doyle Street and Old Oakland/Swan's Market (Emeryville/Oalkand, CA)