Cohousing-L Mailing List: Cohousing in Cambridge, Massachusetts

[mikearnott (mikearnott]

CORNERSTONE COHOUSING
A RESIDENT-PLANNED URBAN VILLAGE IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE

Cornerstone Village is a cohousing community collaboratively planned and
designed by a group of innovative residents and architects.  We own our
land (on a bike path) and are finishing up the architectural drawings for
a planned spring 2000 construction.  14 of the apartments and townhouses
are already sold.  If you (or friends) live in the Boston area and are
not yet living in a cohousing community come find out how you (or they)
can be a part of our growing community.  


ORIENTATION MEETINGS

Saturday, November 20, 1999, 10 am - 12 noon
Central Square Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Avenue
Two blocks from Massachusetts Avenue and the Central Square T-stop;
garage 
parking is available at the corner of Pearl and Green Streets

Thursday, December 9, 1999, 7 pm - 9 pm
Central Square Library, 5 Pearl Street, Cambridge
Two blocks from Massachusetts Avenue and the Central Square T-stop;
garage 
parking is available at the corner of Pearl and Green Streets

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
contact Cornerstone Cohousing Membership
Jeb Mays (617) 576-3836 or e-mail jagate [at] aol.com
Rosemary Kennedy (617) 491-2238 or e-mail cohorose [at] hotmail.com
Judy Adler (781) 648-2293 or e-mail Judith_adler [at] harvard.edu
AND THESE WEB SITES:
www.cohousing.org
www.cornerstonecohousing.org.


"Think globally, act locally" and "It takes a whole village to raise a
child" are two sayings most of us are familiar with.  Cohousing is
individuals and families working to create supportive neighborhoods that
practice what those sayings preach.  Cornerstone Village is a cohousing
community that will start construction this coming spring on Harvey
Street in North Cambridge.

To quote the Cohousing Journal, "Cohousing communities are
resident-developed cooperative neighborhoods where individual households
are clustered around a common house with shared facilities such as a
dinning room, an area for child care, workshops, and laundry.  Each home
is self sufficient with a complete kitchen, but resident cooked dinners
are often available in the common house for those who wish to
participate.

"These developments are also unique in that they are organized, planned,
and managed by the residents themselves.  By re-defining the neighborhood
concept to better address contemporary lifestyles, cohousing communities
can create cross-generational neighborhoods for singles, families, and
the elderly . . . Here in the United States over 150 (cohousing) groups
are in various stages of development . . . (and) are based on democratic
principles, that espouse no ideology other than the desire for a more
practical and social home environment."

Nationwide more than two dozen cohousing communities are under
construction or completed.  In Massachusetts there are three cohousing
communities in the Amherst area, one in Acton, one in the Porter Square
neighborhood of Cambridge on Richdale Avenue, and one, Cornerstone, at
173 Harvey Street in North Cambridge that owns land.  One of the Amherst
cohousing communities recently won a federal Department of Housing and
Urban Development design award.

Next to the Cornerstone site's back yard is the Cambridge Linear Park
bike path.  The price range of units, one bedroom apartments to 4 bedroom
townhouses, is comparable to similar condominium units in the area. 
There will be six below market price "affordable units," four of which
will be for Cambridge residents.  Savings will come from practicing
sustainable development on the neighborhood level.  Sharing, source
reduction, recycling, alternative energy, etc. will create long term
social benefits and financial savings.

The second edition of the book "CoHousing" by Kathryn McCamant and
Charles Durrett is an invaluable resource.  It describes cohousing in
detail and includes case studies of six American cohousing communities. 
The CoHousing Network (publisher of "CoHousing," the book and
"CoHousing," the magazine) has a WEB site: http://www.cohousing.org/. 
There is a cohousing discussion group on the internet with over 500
participants from more than 60 different cohousing groups.  You can join
by sending the following email message: "subscribe cohousing-L <your
name>" to listproc [at] cohousing.org.


Cornerstone Cohousing Village Vision Statement
October 30, 1999 Draft

 RATIONAL:  We have come together to plan for and live in a cohousing
community because we believe that people who have connections to others,
in a community context, live a rich and happy life and because we value
the cooperative process of planning, designing, building and maintaining
our own community.  In today's world, with it's fragmented and often
isolated lifestyles and with it's stresses on the nuclear family, many
neighborhoods do not  serve the supportive function that they once did. 
An intentional, collaborative community can further the individual's
personal fulfillment and ability to contribute to and support the health
of individuals, the family, the neighborhood and of society as a whole.  
                                                                         
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: This community will be located on a one and a half
acre site in a diverse North Cambridge neighborhood.   Housing will be
clustered, allowing for as much shared, open space as possible, including
walkways, gardens and play spaces.  The community will be composed of 32
households and a central common house for shared dinners and other
activities.  The common house will also include two children's rooms, a
laundry room, an arts & crafts room, and other amenities as chosen by the
group.   Each household will occupy a complete home with a full kitchen
and will be able to opt for privacy or sociability as desired.

 We will enjoy access to good public schools,  good public
transportation, stores and open spaces, including the adjacent linear
parkway for both pedestrian and biking use.  There will be an emphasis on
excellent, innovative but fiscally prudent  design, both architectural
and landscape, with a special focus on the aesthetic use of small spaces.
 

ACCESSIBILITY AND VISITABILITY: This Cornerstone Community will endeavor
to create a community that is not only accessible to a certain number of
handicapped persons as decreed by law but also to be a model of
visitability.  By creative and thoughtful planning we hope to  build a
community that is not only friendly to members, et al, with special needs
but also to visitors and future members with future needs.   Whether
these needs  exist in areas of physiology, mobility or sensory
impairment; whether they are temporary or long term conditions and
whether they are new buyers or old timers, it only makes good sense that
it will be less expensive to build in the changes now than to renovate
later.   It also may be that some things will have to wait until later to
complete.  Presently, all units are designed to be visitable, that is
they will at least have one entrance that is wider and level with the
outside and to have an accessible bathroom available on the same level
nearby.  In addition to an elevator in the main building,  there are
numerous features being  designed into the common house to enable
everyone to share in the joy and the work.

COMMUNITY: The physical design of the community will encourage
spontaneous interaction.  Many members will want to share the evening
meal in the common house and will develop a rotation of cooking and
cleaning assignments.  There will be an emphasis on creating community
through shared activities, work (physical upkeep, committee structure for
projects) as well as play, (dancing, singing, parties and celebrations). 
Learning and teaching of skills between members, especially across
generations, will be encouraged.  Interdependence and mutual assistance
will be promoted and will be an integral part of daily life.  Involvement
in the neighborhood as well as the wider community will be an important
goal. 

DIVERSITY: The community hopes to promote cultural, racial and economic
diversity through the use of a broad outreach plan, a welcoming attitude
and lots of pot luck meals.  The group also hopes to explore the  use of
affordable housing, rental units, group households and creative financing
as it puts together its  membership.  Our ages, so far, range from 1 to
93.  We have singles, couples, empty nesters, and same sex couples, with
and without children.  Career wise, we have people who use both sides of
the brain but not necessarily at the same time.  

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY: One of the most appealing aspects of
cohousing is the opportunity  for a lighter, less consumer oriented
lifestyle.  Economics of scale abound, from shared child care to common
household and yard equipment and laundry facilities.  We plan to
incorporate conservation, recycling, composting, creative water use, low
flow toilets and in general use the opportunity to become an
environmentally responsible community.

THIS IS OUR VISION: Undoubtedly there will be changes as we live and grow
together therefore we plan to review and revise this statement at least
yearly.
___________________________________________________________________
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