Cohousing-L Mailing List: US Cohousers Eco Survey

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

Jo Williams <williams [at] gotandem.freeserve.co.uk>
is the author of the message below it was posted 
by Fred the Cohousing-L list manager:  fholson [at] cohousing.org
--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------

Hi,

I have already sent this message to the all the contacts listed for the US
Cohousing Network on the website. However to maximise response and coverage
I am also sending it to the mailing list. All responses gratefully received
and recorded!

I am an academic at The Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning,
University College London. I am currently working on research to support the
introduction of cohousing into the UK.  Although various groups have
struggled to develop cohousing in the UK, there are still many barriers to
it's development. However, the UK Government is beginning to show some
interest in this form of community because of it's social and environmental
advantages. Although the social advantages have been researched and
thoroughly documented, the real environmental advantages in terms of
resource savings have not been assessed.

 We are currently carrying out research to determine the potential resource
savings in terms of energy, space and goods consumption, which can be
achieved by living in a cohousing community.  In order to do this we have
developed a questionnaire survey designed to calculate the eco-footprint of
a household prior to living in a cohousing community and whilst living in a
cohousing community to establish the potential for resource savings.  This
questionnaire will be sent to all households currently living in cohousing
communities in the US. The results from the survey will be analysed, the
potential savings that can be made in cohousing developments assessed and
compared with national data sets. The results will be published in a report
by December 2001. If the results support the hypothesis that resource
savings can be made in cohousing communities the findings will be presented
to the relevant professional and governmental bodies in the UK to help
support the development of cohousing. They will also be disseminated more
widely through the UK Cohousing Website. Therefore the research findings
could prove invaluable to the cohousing cause in the UK. It would also
appear from trawling through the cohousing archives, that some of this
information  could also provide a valuable resource for the US cohousing
network ( especially info on resource savings and demographics) and thus the
data will be made available to the network.

Thus, we would be very grateful if you would complete a questionnaire on
behalf of your household. Please email me at
williams [at] gotandem.freeserve.co.uk  for a questionnaire stating whether you
would like an electronic or paper version. I can either send you an
e-version (which is 214kb MS Word document) or alternatively I can send
you paper copies of the questionnaire and  a stamped addressed envelope 
for self-completion.

We guarantee that personal details will remain completely confidential. In
return for your help, we will:

-     Calculate your household eco-footprint using software developed at UCL
and send you the final printout

-     Provide you with a copy of the final report produced from the
research.

 If you have any questions about the research or the survey please contact
Jo Williams.

Many thanks for your help,

Jo Williams

Williams [at] gotandem.freeserve.co.uk (Until end of April 2001)
Joanna.Williams [at] ucl.ac.uk
Tel:       ++ 44 20 7679 4810
Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning
University College London
Wates House
22 Gordon street,
London
WC1H 0QB


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