Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing as Investment

[seaseal (seaseal]

On May 15, 2008, at 3:16 AM, cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org wrote:
> I'm not sure we can have it both ways: real communities and investment
> vehicles. Can those two mindsets coexist? Do they have to?

Regarding mixed housing in communities of old, I heard an interesting  
comment on the radio the other day about some people driving an old  
double-decker bus, a very slow vehicle. In the U.S.  they were yelled  
at and given the finger. In other countries, people smiled at them  
and waved. The commentator remarked that "civilization" came from the  
word "civil" and when people are most civil, they are the most  
civilized.

This certainly resounds with this thread of low-cost housing mixing  
with the conflicting ideal that real estate should be an "investment"  
in the U.S.

Zoning has done more to ghettoize our cities, resulting in the  
banking practice of redlining, and the further decline of many  
neighborhoods and inner cities. Institutionalized discrimination  
against people of color, older people, and disabled folks is rampant.

Cohousing has the great opportunity to change that and challenge  
zoning practices that are racial, ageist, and the last civil rights  
issue--stigma and discrimination against the disabled, including  
those diagnosed with a mental illness.

Many cohousing groups make special efforts towards "inclusionary  
housing" offered at reduced or subsidized rates so their community is  
whole and civilized. The benefits are multiple.

My bet is that housing that includes all kiinds of people creates a  
lovely, tolerant community of very civilized people who acknowledge  
differences and value uniqueness. And, I'll bet the housing increases  
in value even more because of the "community" it creates.

Cecile Mills
seaseal [at] got.net

"Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote."
- George Jean Nathan