Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Elevators and exclusions

[John Faust (wjfaust]

"By building a cohousing community you are excluding most people right from
the start who would never choose to live in such close association with
their neighbors.  ... "

We could probably use a distinction here. All of the "exclusions" you list
(except for economic) are really self-exclusions or preferences made by
individuals who decide that cohousing is not right for them? The community
is not excluding them. On the other hand, limited accessibility does seem to
be a form of community exclusion. The disabled member can't choose to go or
not go to the upstairs library if there is no way up.

On the other hand cost (as Rob points out) can also be a form of community
exclusion and adding accessibility adds to cost. Which form of community
exclusion do we prefer? What does your vision statement say? What principles
have you adopted to guide the community? I thought Ann Z covered that
nicely.

John Faust