Cohousing-L Mailing List: Measuring Cohousing Community Sizes -- Ratios of Adults to Units

[Sharon Villines (sharonvillines]

(numbers for two more communities added)

The original question was "What is the better indicator of the size of a
cohousing community -- the number of adults who affect decisions or the
number of units." Units is usually used but it seems not to be the operative
number or even related directly to the operative number.

The operative number would seem to be (1) how many people have to get on
board with a decision in order to reach consensus and (2) how many are there
to do the work and join in on community activities.

Adults per Household Sorted by Number of Units.

_ratio_   Adults:Units
_1.36_ 19:14 -- Monterey, Minneapolis, MN
_1.43_ 20:14 -- Berkeley Cohousing
_2.17_ 37:17 -- N Street, Davis, CA
_1.65_ 28:17 -- Village Cohousing, Madison WI
_3.54_ 78:22 -- Sharingwood
_1.67_ 40:24 -- Rosewind, Port Townsend, WA
_1.83_ 44:24 -- New View, Acton MA
_1.32_ 33:25 -- Wasatch Commons, Salt Lake City, UT
_1.40_ 35:25 -- Southside Park, Sacramento, CA
_1.59_ 43:27 -- Pathways, Northampton, MA
_1.58_ 65:41 -- Cambridge Cohousing
_1.23_ 53:43 -- Takoma Village, DC

Adults per Household Sorted by Number of Adults

_ratio_ Adults:Units
_1.36_ 19:14 -- Monterey, Minneapolis, MN
_1.43_ 20:14 -- Berkeley Cohousing
_1.65_ 28:17 -- Village Cohousing, Madison WI
_1.32_ 33:25 -- Wasatch Commons, Salt Lake City, UT
_1.40_ 35:25 -- Southside Park, Sacramento, CA
_2.17_ 37:17 -- N Street, Davis, CA
_1.67_ 40:24 -- Rosewind, Port Townsend, WA
_1.59_ 43:27 -- Pathways, Northampton, MA
_1.83_ 44:24 -- New View, Acton MA
_1.23_ 53:43 -- Takoma Village, DC
_1.58_ 65:41 -- Cambridge Cohousing
_3.54_ 78:22 -- Sharingwood


Adults per Household Sorted by Ratio of Adults to Units

_ratio_ Adults:Units
_1.23_ 53:43 -- Takoma Village, DC
_1.32_ 33:25 -- Wasatch Commons, Salt Lake City, UT
_1.36_ 19:14 -- Monterey, Minneapolis, MN
_1.40_ 35:25 -- Southside Park, Sacramento, CA
_1.43_ 20:14 -- Berkeley Cohousing
_1.59_ 43:27 -- Pathways, Northampton, MA
_1.65_ 28:17 -- Village Cohousing, Madison WI
_1.67_ 40:24 -- Rosewind, Port Townsend, WA
_1.58_ 65:41 -- Cambridge Cohousing
_1.83_ 44:24 -- New View, Acton MA
_2.17_ 37:17 -- N Street, Davis, CA
_3.54_ 78:22 -- Sharingwood

Sorting by ratios (even if ratios at small numbers mean less if anything),
one would see entirely different order of size than by counting units or
counting adults. Does this mean anything?

While Takoma Village has 43 units, it only has 53 adults to do the work and
make decisions. It has the largest number of units but the smallest ratio of
adults to units, thus in some ways a smaller community. But the work of
upkeep on the real estate is staggering.

At N Street, there are only 17 units but 37 adults who have to reach
consensus, and 37 adults to do the work. Sharingwood is in the same
position.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org


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