Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Public access through community

[Raines Cohen (coho-L]

Robin Allison <ecohousing [at] xtra.co.nz> wrote on Sun, 19 Sep 1999 04:30:16 
-0500:

>Philosophically most of our members are happy with the idea of
>contributing and integrating with the wider neighbourhood in this way,
>but there are fears about breaching the security and privacy of our
>community.
>
>Is this a situation that other communities have faced? For those of you
>who have public pedestrian access through your site, is it an asset or a
>liability to your community, and how could it work better? We'd
>appreciate any advice you might have.

Old Oakland Cohousing at Swans market, currently well along in 
construction, incorporates a mix of private and semi-public space, with 
some physical and visual access barriers, intended to both open up our 
community while remaining secure in our boundaries. [I'm describing 
what's envisioned/planned/imagined... many of these features are not yet 
built]

The cohousing portion of the mixed-used project occupies the upper part 
of the North (10th St.) side of the block; the SE corner includes retail, 
restaurant and office space, plus the Museum of Children's Art, while the 
SW corner is affordable rental housing. Below the cohousing is three 
parking lots: ours, the renters', and the retail/office workers'.

The connecting structure of our community is Swans Walk, the second-floor 
open-to-the-sky promenade connecting our units and the Common House. From 
in front of the CH, we will be able to descend stairs to our garden, 
access to parking, and the lower level of the CH. Also at the bottom of 
the stairs will be our gate, one of the secured entry points. It opens 
onto a corridor shared with the rental housing access to their parking, 
going alongside our fenced-off garden, and connects to:

Swans Way: A pedestrian accessway, open to the sky, between our space and 
the rental housing (it goes in from the street both off of Clay St., the 
west side, and 9th St., the south side, on both interior sides of the 
rental building. At the interior corner, near the MOCHA entrance, there 
may be a fountain (depending on the fundraising on the nonprofit side of 
the project) and will likely be public performances: music, dance, etc. - 
plus certainly plenty of kids on field trips to the museum eating lunch 
and making noise. A few businesses, stores, and art galleries are 
directly on Swans Way.

Here's a picture (not at all to scale):

           <----------- 10th St. -----------<
  .................................................... W
  !   Units         CH             Units             ! A
  !   Units         CH             Units             ! S
C ! Swans Walk - Swans Walk - Swans Walk - Swans Walk! H
L !   Units      !  ! Stairs  !      Units           ! I
A !   Units      !  Gate Gdn  !      Units           ! N
Y ...............!  ! Garden  !....................... G
  G  Swans Way      !.........!                  Res ! T
S G  Swans Way                D MOCHA            tau ! O
T ............D..      Swans  !                  ran ! N
. !    Rental    !     Way    !    Retail         ts !
  !    Housing   !            !     Ofcs upstairs    ! S
  !  (3 stories) !            !                      ! T
  ................GGGGGGGGG..........DDDDD...........! .
          >----------- 9th St. ----------->

G = Gate
D = Door
(1st 3 lines show's what's upstairs... most of the rest is ground level)

The gates to Swans Way will be open during business hours, closed the 
rest of the time. We're hoping it will become an extended backyard for us 
and our rental neighbors, a shared playspace after hours. We may invite 
some people there and in the condos across Clay St. or elsewhere nearby 
to become affiliate members, join us for some meals, and whatnot.

The landscaping in the garden, which, like the stairs, is INSIDE our 
secure-buzzer front gate, is designed to provide a fair amount of 
privacy.... but it'll take some time for us to build that out.

While most of the design predates my joining the group, I found the 
debate over details that affect how much interaction we get and can 
choose with our neighbors and the public interesting. Part of what 
attracted me to this particular community was that it was not highly 
insular, more outward-looking / community-embracing than some other 
designs.

Raines

Raines Cohen <coho-L [at] raines.com> <http://www.swansway.com>
  Member, Old Oakland [CA] Cohousing at Swan's Market
Where we're setting policies on smoking and signs

  and member, East Bay Cohousing [no site yet]
Which, according to a survey, collectively wants a more urban site than 
anyone in the group realized.