Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Steve Welzer's Challenge to the cohousing 'system'

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Mar 15, 2023, at 10:22 AM, John Pustell via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> For example re real costs here is how we financed things at Bay State Commons 
> (Just moved in in November 2022 after 9 years!) -
> 
> ** All initial funds for search and design came from ourselves - about 
> $400,000 (very risky investment)

I think John’s account of the Bay State Commons development, north of Boston 
center, is an excellent example of what building a cohousing community in a 
city will cost today. And how much funding had to come from within the group.

The same reason cohousing is not “affordable” for more than half of the US 
population. Staying within the system means you are limited by its requirements.

Historically, populations who were not benefiting from the system, like 
homesteaders, immigrants, etc., went outside it to build or take advantage of a 
different system. Unless your urban area is in the depths of decay, it won’t be 
amenable to such changes. The other direction is toward rural areas where the 
constraints are fewer but the urban amenities are also fewer, said Captain 
Obvious.

In the 1960s there was a great movement of people building their own homes. The 
Woodstock Houses have been written about extensively. One account by a woman 
who built her own house said the only advice her builder friend gave her was 
“Design it so that no piece is longer than 4 ft.”  She was 5 ft long. The 
lesson being design something you can physically manage yourself. These homes 
were primitive and beautiful. 

One family in California sold their house, had movers load everything into a 
truck, and dump it all under a large tree on land they had purchased. From 
there, they started building. A teenager built his own house in a tree. Tent 
cities are building and rebuilding all over the country. 

It’s probably the same amount of work either way but the challenges are 
different.

There are some resources and ideas on my site, Strong Neighborhoods.

https://www.strongneighborhoods.info/

Architectural schools in particular are aiming at the $100,000 house. The Tiny 
House movement. Japan has incredible designers working on 400-600 SF 
apartments. 

It will take a group building for itself to break the barrier. No one else is 
going to do that work without compensation. 

Sharon
—————
Sharon Villines, Washington DC

We don’t agonize, we organize. — Nancy Pelosi