Cohousing-L Mailing List: Misuse of the cohousing word - again

[Becca Brackett (ecbrackett]

I decided to write to Emilie Raguso of the Berkeleyside news about an 
article she wrote Dec 4, 2018. It is about a proposed very dense housing 
building to  replace a gas station. It is NOT cohousing but the word 
co-housing is used.  The building is to have 80 bedrooms in 23 units, 
and a few small common areas - Not a community.

the headline reads:  Council approves South Berkeley co-housing units 
after zoning board denial.

here is the article:

http://s.coop/densehousing

Here is what I wrote to her:

Dear Emilie Raguso,

I am from Minneapolis,  but I just had to comment about the use of the 
word  "co-housing"  in your article.
I have a "google alert" on the word cohousing and that service brought 
your article to my attention. It appears from the article that what  is 
planned is Co-living. The units available individually, without any 
intentional community organization, and later in your article  you do 
use "Co-living"  which I think is a more appropriate word choice. Even 
though  you used a dash for co-housing,  I am hoping that you will not 
use it in future for such a building.

I am a big fan of the concept ( cohousing )  brought to the USA from 
Denmark in the 1990's, AND hate to see it confused with other types of 
housing developments.
The wikipedia article on cohousing  ( no hyphen included) 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohousing, defines  cohousing as a  " 
an__intentional community 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community>__ of private homes 
clustered around shared space. Each attached or single family home has 
traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces 
typically feature a common house, which may include a large kitchen and 
dining area, laundry, and recreational spaces. Shared outdoor space may 
include parking, walkways, open space, and gardens. Neighbors also share 
resources like tools and lawnmowers. Households have independent incomes 
and private lives, but neighbors collaboratively plan and manage 
community activities and shared spaces. The legal structure is typically 
a homeowner association 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeowner_association> or housing 
cooperative <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Housing_cooperative>. "

Berkeley DOES have some actual cohousing - "Berkeley Cohousing" is its 
name and their webpage is 
_https://www.cohousing.org/Berkeley%20Cohousing. _Cohousing groups form 
BEFORE  construction and as a group contribute to the planning and 
Architectural choices. After construction they self manage their community._
_

Thanks  for considering this issue,

Becca Brackett--


--
Becca Brackett: Bassett Creek Cohousing member,
http://BassettCreek.us      612-588-9532
I am a retired MD, Unitarian Humanist!
I am quilter, gardener, and naturalist.