Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Why cohousing should not be mission driven to be affordable

[Diane Simpson (coho]

Well, I guess this is one of those rare occasions where I will have to
disagree with the "cohousing god" (as I call him)   (:^]

There are two types of housing in the low-cost housing world, "affordable"
housing" and low-income housing. According to the planners I listened to
today at the Boston Redevelopment Authority workshop, "affordable" housing
is aimed at people who are making close to the median income for a
particular area,(or even above that income) whereas "low-income" housing is
aimed at the dirt-poor. I would argue that cohousing certainly can and
should aim to be an attractive "affordable" housing option.

I didn't see anything in Katie and Chuck's original description of
cohousing that says it is a housing option designed for the upper and
middle classes. In their book, one of the communities was occupied by
owners and renters. That definitely encompasses two different kinds of
income levels.

We should never forget that all those cohousers who struggled against all
odds to build the communities of their dreams were people of substantial
means--people who could afford a 20 to 30% downpayment because at the time
cohousing was so new that the banks wouldn't loan on these projects. How
many people in America today can afford to do this? Most people put down 5
or 10%. Why should people be denied the option of living in a cohousing
community if they can't afford a huge downpayment?

While I was at the Roxbury Master Plan Charrette I heard over and over
again in the "quality of life" workshop people describing a housing
community similar to cohousing. They wanted a neighborhood where the
neighbors knew each other. They wanted a central place for child care. They
wanted a place for the seniors to hang out. They wanted a place for
community meetings. These are exactly the things cohousing provides. But it
will never become known to the world if we stay in our own little private
communities and say, in effect, "I've got mine, Jack!"

Now is not the time to pull back from promoting cohousing as an
"affordable" housing option, just as the banks and secondary-mortgage
market is beginning to notice and accept this as a valid housing
development plan. This will make it easier for people to get mortages on
these properties and they will no longer have to struggle to come up with
an enormous downpayment. This is the huge hurdle that makes cohousing
un-affordable to so many people.

I think another reason for not pulling back from cohousing as affordable
housing, is that if we continue to remain an elitist little "club," we will
only marginalize ourselves. The last time prior to this when I attended a
public planning meeting and mentioned the word "cohousing" the Mayor of
Boston turned around and looked at me. Later he remarked to a friend: "Boy,
with the people here today you could start a revolution!"

I don't think of myself as a revolutionary and I don't think that living in
cohousing communities should be considered a revolutionary act. It's just
common sense. But if it doesn't become available to people of more modest
means we'll just be considered an insignificant bunch of kooks by the
powers-that-be. And that will be a great disservice to the larger community.

--Diane(:^\


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>Date: Wed, 1 Nov 2000 19:30:00 -0800
>From: "Rob Sandelin" <floriferous [at] msn.com>
>To: "Multiple recipients of list" <cohousing-l [at] freedom2.mtn.org>
>Subject: Why cohousing should not be mission driven to be affordable housing
>Message-ID: <LPBBLHKKBOKJBHOFMFDPGEAMCEAA.floriferous [at] msn.com>
>
>I disagree that it is, or should be, the mission of cohousing to provide
>affordable housing. Cohousing does provide a small amount of green and
>affordability and this is fine as is. No guilt accepted  or needed.
>
>Cohousing is not a public service. It is an intentional community form
>designed specifically to be attractive to the middle  and upper classes. The
>basic tenants of cohousing are that is non-religious, private income, new
>development, homeownership based. These are what makes cohousing attractive
>as a community type to the middle class, and also to the banks and other
>bureaucracies. To make cohousing affordable mission driven, in my opinion,
>would be such a huge burden that it would lead to the extinction of
>cohousing. The people that currently drive the development of it would  opt
>out and  cohousing development would stop.
>

    @@                 coho [at] world.std.com                   @@
   @@@@       Diane Simpson  http://jpcohousing.org        @@@@
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