According to Margaret Mead,
the world-renowned cultural anthropologist, for 99% of human history,
humans have lived in tribes, extended families and small villages.
Given this, how can we be surprised that today's life-styles are
not only unsustainable, but also downright destructive to both our
environment and ourselves.
As a native New Yorker and a 15-year resident of a Manhattan apartment,
it was commonplace to come home from my fast-paced job, say hello
to the doorman, perhaps greet a fellow resident in the elevator,
and then disappear into my 750-square-foot flat, not to see anyone
again until the next morning. Is that any way to live? Yet, how
many people do live without any connection to their neighbors?
For me, all of this changed when I moved into a cohousing community
in Boulder, Colorado, 3-1/2 years ago. And now, there is a new cohousing
neighborhood well underway in Paso Robles: Oak Creek Commons, a
neighborhood which combines the advantages of private home ownership
with the benefits of shared resources and activities. It is a rare
blending of privacy and community not easily available in any of
the standard neighborhoods springing up all over this country.
Cohousing neighborhoods offer a more sustainable lifestyle in a
number of different ways. Since moving into my cohousing neighborhood
I see and interact with my neighbors everyday. These interactions
are usually spontaneous and make my life fuller and more meaningful
all qualities I attribute to sustainability. I define sustainable
as something one could "will to be a universal," as the
philosopher Emanuel Kant would say; something that if repeated over
and over again would enhance, not take away from personal lives
or the environment.
I see a number of ways in which cohousing contributes to a more
sustainable lifestyle. Examples include: optional community meals,
wise land use, built-in playmates for my children, integration of
work and life (many cohousers work from home) and closer ties with
neighbors.
By having the opportunity to eat dinners several times each week
with my neighbors, I end up simplifying my life and saving time,
money and resources. I appreciate not having to cook every night,
only paying $3.50-$5.00 per adult (less than a third for a dinner
out with our family) and knowing that there is only one stove being
used to feed our entire neighborhood.
Where a typical developer might spread out six single-family detached
homes across a property with plenty of fences dividing each private
lot, a cohousing community will tightly cluster the homes keeping
most of the land as open space for everyone to enjoy.
During the last 10 years since the first cohousing community was
completed in the U.S., there has been a growing trend for cohousing
neighborhoods to be built in urban in-fill sites where the land
was previously vacant or where an old building once stood. Our community
in Boulder is a good example. Instead of having more urban sprawl,
we built our 11-household neighborhood on a one-acre site next to
a community theatre. By re-developing our existing neighborhoods,
we can keep urban sprawl to a minimum and increase sustainable land
use.
It has been well documented that the automobile is one of the largest
contributors to urban sprawl and air pollution in most major cities.
A study sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency about the
Nyland Cohousing Community just north of Denver, Colorado, found
that cohousers made 25% less auto trips as compared to a neighborhood
of similar size (42 households). Imagine the profound effect on
our environment if neighborhoods were designed to discourage car
use?
All of the 52 completed cohousing neighborhoods in North America
have pedestrian pathways that lead to the homes with cars parked
on the periphery of the property so they have the smallest impact
possible on resident life.
Because of the resident's commitment to environmental sustainability,
the vast majority of cohousing communities have built-in systems
to recycle a substantial portion of their solid waste. At my community,
we not only recycle the typical newspaper, glass, metal and office
paper, but also have a team of people who take paperboard, cardboard,
plastic containers, magazines and household hazardous waste to our
community-wide recycling center.
All of our food waste is used in our composting center. This spring
will be the second year we have made organic compost for our garden.
Over this past weekend, the children helped put a fresh batch of
the compost on the garden to prep the soil. It felt wonderful to
show them how leftover food can be recycled back into the soil for
our vegetable garden and then it will return to our bodies as food
again.
While our cohousing community is contributing to sustainability,
is this lifestyle also more affordable than a typical single family
home? The answer is yes for a number of reasons. First, the cost
to buy a new home in a cohousing neighborhood is comparable to the
purchase price of a condominium, and less than a new single detached
home. However, for the cost of your home, you are also an equal
owner in all of the common land and the common buildings. In a community
such as Oak Creek Commons in Paso Robles, residents will have shared
ownership in 14 acres of land, plus a pool, hot tub, a large Common
House for community meals, guest rooms for overnight friends and
family, and spaces for yoga, art or music.
Second, even greater savings come when you look at the ongoing costs
of living in a cohousing community. Because cohousing residents
strive to reduce their impact on the environment, homes in a typical
cohousing community are built to be resource-and energy-efficient.
Making the homes very "tight" often does this, along with
high quality windows and a passive solar design oriented to maximize
heating during the winter. In the Nyland Cohousing Community mentioned
above, the utility bills were 50% less than comparable size homes
in nearby neighborhoods.
Plus, because cohousers typically maintain their property themselves,
the cost of hiring people to mow lawns or stain porches and decks
is eliminated. This is often accomplished by holding twice-monthly
workdays where everyone who is available comes out to help. What
would normally seem like a chore if you were alone, becomes a lot
of fun when eight to 10 people are out there with you. Moreover,
we purchase our lawn mowers jointly, instead of one for each household,
and share equally the cost of buying fertilizer, trees and flowers.
Having two young daughters, I notice how much easier it is to live
in such a close-nit neighborhood. I don't need to make phone calls,
coordinate schedules or take my children someplace for a "play
date." All we need to do is go outside in the grassy courtyard
in front of our homes and there's a group of kids to play with.
In addition, my daughters are forming strong relationships, not
just with neighboring children, but with other adults who have become
an extended family.
Looking back over the past couple of years, I have experienced
enormous personal growth because of staying open in my communications
with my neighbors and resolving conflicts as soon as possible. Plus,
I am raising my children in a community setting which is the way
we lived for eons before we became "civilized."
The new cohousing neighborhood being created in Paso Robles Oak
Creek Commons offers a chance to try this lifestyle. As of this
writing, the Group has 26 committed households of the 31 needed
to complete the community. They will be building 31 townhomes and
there are 5 lots for single detached homes. The site for the future
neighborhood will facilitate the practices of sustainable land use
mentioned above: they have a 14-acre property and will only build
on four acres, keeping 10 as open space for organic orchards, edible
landscaping, and vegetable gardens.
The Oak Creek Commons Group is also committed to creating a strong
community before moving in. The have monthly business meetings and
monthly "open heart" time for non-business sharings.
Site tours and orientations for new people are on Sunday mornings
at 10 a.m. For more information, please call 800-489-8715 or visit
their website at www.oakcreekcommons.org.
Neshama Abraham lives in the Nomad Cohousing
Community in Boulder, CO. She and her husband are raising two daughters.
