Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Definition of CoHo, Christians, etc.

[Allen Butcher (allenbutcher]

OK, got to respond to this one too.  I hear your preference to make
cohousing refer primarily to a participatory decision-making or
governmental process, which is a political issue, and you mention "closer
neighborhood community" which is a sociological issue.  You state that
you do not think that the architectural/land use design issue should be
the primary aspect of the definition of "cohousing."  I feel that we can
take the definition provided by the coiners of the term (and I'd like to
see it boiled down to one sentence or at most one paragraph) and let it
go at that.  To say that cohousing means primarily participatory process
and "closer neighborhood community" would include Twin Oaks and similar
communities like some land trust groups.  That I would think is too
broad.  

I think that cohousing definition must include all the elements intended
by its coiners.  As I said in another transmission, you can add othe
modifiers such as "Christian cohousing community" or "vegetarian
cohousing community" or "TV-less cohousing community" or what ever kind
of thing that people want to emphasize and sellect for.  

Allen


On Sat, 13 Sep 1997 21:40:58 -0500 "Rob Sandelin"
<Floriferous [at] classic.msn.com> writes:
>Several people have commented that they feel "pedetrian-orientation" 
>is
>key--I agree it is key and I speak strongly for the advantages of
>pedetrian-orientated design but it gets a little tricky in a specific
>definition. 
>
>I think architectural design is not what cohousing is about, and 
>should be 
>avoided in terms of a definition. Whether a place is designed from 
>scratch, or 
>retrofited from and into existing structures and neighborhoods, it 
>seems that 
>the participatory and democratic process, coupled with resident 
>ownership and 
>management  with the goal of creating a closer neighborbood community 
>is what 
>people who are into cohousing are after.  Architectural stuff is cool 
>but not 
>a defining characteristic, nor is being ecological. They can be 
>attributes of 
>various communities, but they can exist without them.
>
>And no, Sharingwood has no sidewalks, but does have a pedestrian 
>second phase, 
>which just got final engineering approvals this week, so now its on to 
>the 
>titles and dirt moving soon. (gads....its about time....) We would've 
>gone 
>pedestrian in phase I but we started way before anybody heard much 
>about it,  
>We did our site design in 84.
>
>Maybe next spring we can get central park (our garden, arboreteum and 
>hang out 
>space) started. 
>
>Still have a few lots left for those adventurous enough to brave the 
>rigors of 
>the country, surrounded by towering forests, wild animals, and 
>friendly 
>neighbors. I know, those pesky birds and squirrels are so loud in the 
>morning 
>in spring, and the owls hooting in the winter make it pretty 
>halloween-like at 
>times. Geeeze, and then there's all the deer that eat your landscaping 
>and the 
>hawks that pick off the ditty birds at the feeders. And of course now 
>we have 
>chickens, and rabbits, and maybe soon some goats, so its just a 
>regular 
>farmland out here. There is even a lady who picks WEEDS, and puts in 
>them our 
>dinners. Sheesh, must be all that fresh air.
>
>Rob Sandelin
>Sharingwood
>
>