Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: co-housing v.s. old-fashioned neighborliness

[Jim Willits (dwn2erth]

rob sandelin ,
        give me a break ...  "strangers stand out like beacons"    please....
sounds like jingoism of the highest order or maybe i mean odor... 
        i have also never been impressed by the " relationship building" that 
goes
on in either type of community. 
        and gee... let's not forget to be sure to exclude low income families 
and
protect market values for our little pieces of the pie.. 
         every time i read the sandelin letter over I still can't tell if he is
being serious or sarcastic. especially since we all love meetings so much
especially about such burning issues as  cohousing maintenance costs and
common room usage. 

 jim willits 
http//www.bioactive.com
http//willits [at] bioactive.com

----------
> From: Rob Sandelin <Floriferous [at] classic.msn.com>
> Subject: RE: co-housing v.s. old-fashioned neighborliness
> Date: Thursday, May 14, 1998 10:23 AM
> 
> Cohousing is intentional community, the people who work together to
create it 
> and live in it do so for a specific purpose, to increase the community in

> their lives. You specifically make a commitment to that purpose when you
join 
> a cohousing community, and the whole neighborhood works together to
acheive 
> the goals of community. There are no strangers living in an intentional 
> community, and visitors and strangers stand out like beacons. You know 
> everyone, usually much deeper than is normal for neighbors in America.
> 
> In community there is a significant personal commitment required to the
group. 
> This is measured by responsibilities and caring for one another.
> 
> Traditional neighborhoods are not intentional. People typically do not
move 
> there to create more community in their lives, and typically only some of
the 
> neighbors work together to create community. There is no commitment to
the 
> group required, a seldom is it acheived.
> 
> Gated communities are designed to isolate and insulate. Cohousing is
designed 
> for collaboration and cooperation. They are private, in the same way that

> gated communities are, however their purpose is to build relationships,
not 
> isolate. They each do exclude however. Cohousing and Gated communities
tend to 
> be market rate and above housing and so they exclude low incomes.
Cohousing 
> excludes people who can't work well with others, or have a low tolerance
for 
> meetings. Other than that, they are very different in intentions and 
> functions.
> 
> Rob Sandelin
> Sharingwood
> A place with an invisable, $200,000 wall around it
>