Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: gradient line from public to private (was, common house tensions to resolve)

[Hans Tilstra (tilstra]

To use the common house for public functions or not ....

According to Serge Chermayeff and Christopher Alexander (of Pattern Language
fame), spaces or realms for community and privacy can be broken into six
domains.

6. Urban-Public  The places and facilities in public ownership: highways,
roads, paths, civic parks.
5. Urban-Semi-public The special areas of public use under government and
institutional controls: city halls, courts of justice, public schools, post
offices, hospitals, transportation exchanges, parking lots, garages, service
stations, stadia, theaters.
4. Group-Public  The meeting ground between public services and utilities
and private property requiring joint access and responsibility: places
requiring mail delivery, garbage collection, utilities control, access to
fire-fighting equipment or other emergency rescue devices.
3. Group-Private Various secondary areas under control of management acting
on behalf of private or public interest for the benefit of tenants or other
legal occupants: reception, circulation, and service spaces; community
gardens; playgrounds; laundries; storage; etc.
2. Family-Private The spaces within the private domain controlled by a
single family that are devoted to communal family activities such as eating,
entertainment, hygiene, and maintenance.
1. Individual-Private The "room of one's own," the innermost sanctum to
which individuals may withdraw from their family.

Cohousing strikes me as using these six gradients very deliberately and
thoughtfully. Hence, when the discussion of the group involves these
gradients, perhaps a discussion should take place to aspire towards defining
these boundaries.

Hans Tilstra
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~cohouse

In Melbourne, where http://www.merricohousing.org 's preferred land is under
threat of being used for ordinary housing instead. Major set back...

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