What is Cohousing?

Cohousing is a means for people to own their destiny.

In cohousing, people work together to create their own neighbourhood. Residents are intimately involved in planning and design their housing development, which helps to form the bonds that are the foundation of a community.

Members of a cohousing community share common facilities and participate in every aspect of decision-making. Cohousing can be urban, suburban, or rural. Communities can build new homes, or rehabilitate an existing structure.

Designs are limited only by the desires and means of the group. Each home is self-contained with ready access to shared facilities, and the design of the neighbourhood encourages interaction with neighbours.

Community

Cohousing has been called a return to the best of small-town neighbourhoods. It sets out to create the kind of community that used to arise spontaneously. Some liken cohousing to the traditional, close-knit community where they grew up. Others view it as a new response to social, economic, and environmental challenges of the 21st century.

​Cohousing is both of these. It’s based on a Danish concept of collaborative housing transplanted to North America 30 years ago, where residents know their neighbours well and which offers community, socializing, and mutual support that is hard to find today.

Privacy

One thing cohousing is not is a commune, or a group sharing a common religious or social ideology. Cohousing encourages community while respecting the need for privacy and the diverse views and backgrounds of its members.

Cohousing combines the autonomy of private dwellings with the advantages of extensive shared amenities, including a common house and recreation areas. Residents stay directly involved in every step of the planning and development process to ensure that the community reflects their priorities.

Cohousing has captured people’s imaginations. Over 160 communities have been built in Canada and the United States, and there are dozens more in development. We are adding to that number with a cohousing community here in Peterborough.

Sustainability

At its best, cohousing promotes environmental, social, and economic sustainability. A well-designed cohousing community uses land efficiently by providing higher-density developments, typically within easy access of public transportation, shopping, entertainment, and other amenities. Many sites also make use solar panels, geothermal heating, and energy-efficient building materials.

Cohousing also fosters social cohesion. Facilities such as the common house and gardens are designed to encourage spontaneous connection. Regular activities such as common meals, social events, and day-to-day interaction strengthens bonds with each other. Residents share equally in decision-making and managing the community’s affairs, deepening engagement with the community.

By sharing resources and leveraging joint purchasing power, cohousing communities enhance their economical sustainability too. Shared common spaces means smaller individual homes which cost less to build. Office equipment, gardening and maintenance tools, recreational equipment can be shared by all. There is a pool of skills and expertise for the community to draw upon.