Cohousing-L Mailing List: environmental initiatives

[Jason Whitfield (jswhitfi]

Hello all,

I am venturing into the cohousing discussion with a question for those
communities built or in the planning/building stages who desired to
include environmental initiatives in the construction of their
community.  I have visited the Ecovillage at Ithaca and was disappointed
not to find composting toilets, solar power, or alternative building
materials. I am a first year Master's student in the School of Planning,
University of Waterloo and I hope to focus my thesis on the
environmental benefits of cohousing/ecovillages, specifically I believe
that many cohousing groups want to include more environmental
initiatives in their community, but during the approval phase of
building their dream community, cohousing groups get caught up in other
issues and the environmental stuff gets pushed to the back burner.  Is
this a valid observation? I would like to hear from individuals or
groups who had an environmental goals while they were forming their
community.  Did you manage to maintain your ideal community?  From your
informal response I will determine if there is a thesis out there on
this issue and hopefully gather more formal information sometime next
summer.  I appreciate your help.

Jason Whitfield
MA Candidate
University of Waterloo