Re: COHOUSING-L digest 449 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Barb Andre (mba![]() |
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Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 17:02:47 -0600 |
Rod Lambert wrote: > <snip> > What activities should be brought > into this 'interior' space - playgrounds, gardens, etc - what things > shouldn't? Is it important to be able to glance out a window and see what's > going on in most of your neighborhood? - at the commonhouse? - at the > basketball hoop? or is having a home off the beaten path more important to > many? Do porches make a big difference? - do people find them central to their > communing with their neighbors? If you could change the way your neighborhood > is layed out what would you change and why? <snip> I live in a unit which does not look directly onto our central green and common house. If I could start over, I would choose of one our units directly on the green, because I like to see where and how my children are playing, without leaning out the window or walking around the house to find them. Also, I like to see when some of the natural gatherings of neighbors are taking place in warmer weather. It bothers me not to be able to see directly into our central area. (But not enough to move out of cohousing!) However, I'm not sure that every resident here feels the same way. My personal belief is that every unit should have direct visual connection with the center green, but I am very much aware that this could be impossible in many sites! Our central green includes a play structure for younger children; a sidewalk that serves well for some bike riding and roller skating/blading by the younger crowd; a large lawn that hosts the calmer ball games, frisbee throwing, racing, other large-motor activities that don't endanger the nearby windows and toddlers, picnics, igloo-building, tents overnight. What we do *not* have in our inner green includes the chicken coop, the vegetable garden, full-blown ball games (soccer, football, baseball), the basketball hoop, roller blading by the fast crowd. However, we do have large open spaces that *can* support those activities. As for porches, yes, they make a big difference for me. I don't know if they are *that* necessary for "communing," but they are definitely the place to be eating dinner on a warm summer evening, and it's very easy to call your neighbors over to join you in the meal (which we have done a few times). We also take our home meals to the common house porch occasionally to eat in the sun on cooler days. (Our porch is shaded in the afternoon.) We were very lucky to be able to purchase a large site for our community. Our 30 units are on 6 acres of land, and we have more land which was not built on. Not every group will be able to find or afford such a large piece of land. Barb Andre Greyrock Commons Fort Collins, CO
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