Guest guest Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 HUMMMmmmmm, Sounds Great to me I wonder I'm homeless ill and can't win for loosing. Peace Elvira > > From: cg <c2g2fam@...> > Date: 2007/01/04 Thu PM 12:39:06 EST > csda , csssphx , wsmcsn , > ehcwm , MACIMCS@..., echomcsct@..., > , MCSVillage , cg_006@... > Subject: [] Chem/env sens accessible cohousing communities vision: CeS-ACCESSable > > <Many of us share the vision of living in CeS-ACCESSable (chemical and environmental (e.g. mold, EMF) sensitivities accessible) cohousing communities, if for no more compelling reason than sheer terror of the prospect of a future in inadequately accessible Assisted Living and Nursing Homes. > While it is easy to fall into " glass half-empty " thinking, including regarding funding concerns, how do we focus on " glass half full " thinking and leverage access to resources that are being spent on other vulnerable subpopulations? > In a day when HUD-affordable senior cohousing and " green affordable " housing are already here, technology and affordability are no longer our obstacles. > The following is provided as background on cohousing to stimulate our dialogue. > We are seeking persons committed to making healthy-green (no/low VOC) cohousing communities our reality. > Persons with knowledge of (or willing to become knowledgeable on) HUD disability and housing ownership funding opportunities (particularly for persons with disabilities), rural housing opportunities, private, and other funding opportunities and processes are welcomed, as well as all persons committed to healthy-green (no/low VOC) cohousing communities vision. > Please contact: cg_006@... > cg declares no financial or professional conflicts-of-interest. > cg declares very personal interest as a result of ongoing need of CeS-accessible housing and community for personal respiratory health reasons.> > > Backgrounder: > (Fair Use Notice) > Cohousing communities combine the advantages of private homes with the benefits of more sustainable living, including shared common facilities and ongoing connections with neighbors. These intentional neighborhoods, created and managed by residents, offer an innovative solution to today's environmental and social challenges. > http://www.eldercohousing.org/ > http://www.cohousing.org/elder-cohousing.aspx > Also known as senior cohousing, elder cohousing [let us include CeS-disabled] is designed especially for active adults, 55 and above. In elder cohousing residents can choose to grow older meaningfully, consciously and independently in a self-managed, close-knit community. > > Senior cohousing neighborhoods are built with the future in mind. > • Using universal design, each living space can transition from a home for an active lifestyle to one that supports progressing needs for accessibility. [called " Age-in-Place " ] > • Common areas, indoors and out, are designed to provide easy access and recreation for all levels of physical ability. [Ces-ACCESSable concept includes ozone pool (without chlorine).] > • Studio residences can be included in a community’s common house to provide living quarters to home health aides whose services may be shared by several residents, allowing members to remain at home for all but major medical emergencies. [potentially reducing individual expense and providing accessible (VOC fragrance free) home health assistance] > Workshop: Elder Cohousing Getting Started Workshop with Zev Paiss and Neshama Abraham, September 14-17, 2006 in Boulder, CO > --- > Books by Chuck Durrett (Architect who has promoted cohousing since 1980s) > Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Independent Living > Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves > --- > A day in the life of a single-family house by Chuck Durrett, The CoHousing Company > December 2004 http://www.cohousing.org/livingincoho_singlefamily.aspx > > Wow, the single-family house – what a workout it can be. After 12 years of living in Doyle Street Cohousing in Emeryville, CA, I'd forgotten how hard it is to live in a " regular " house. How do so many people do it and stay sane? > > We moved this past summer to a 1,150-square-foot, single-family house with a white picket fence, a detached garage and a dog. We didn't move out of cohousing because we became disenchanted with it, but because we are developing a beautiful new 34-unit cohousing project in Nevada City, CA, where we can be in the woods and in the city at the same time. > Nevada City is charming to be sure, but the whole " single-family house " dream thing is, to quote my daughter Jessie, " like so over-rated. " For one thing, you have to shop, cook and clean up just about every night. That also means you have to get in your car, sit in traffic, find parking, play bumper cars, stand in line, find your car, find the exit, sit in traffic and put away the groceries – before you're even ready to start cooking. > > It's different in cohousing. When dinner is served in the common house, you just walk on over and eat a home-cooked meal. You might even get to take home leftovers for tomorrow's lunch or dinner or a midnight snack. And speaking of snacks, it's amazing how often one of our neighbors would serve snacks on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, or whenever. > > I baked a fresh pear crisp at my new house the other day. , Jessie and I ate some of it, but there was no neighbor with whom we could readily share it without making a big deal out of it or getting into the car to take it to a friend. With cohousers, you can hand them a dish and rock on. > > At Doyle Street we had dinner in the common house three times a week. We also usually shared a spontaneous joint meal once a week with one of our neighbors or when the coach of a weekend work day would cook a big breakfast. Or someone would finish up on the common house outdoor grill just as I was ready to add some of our own food. He'd even have some extra squash and show me just how to cook it. > > Living in cohousing was so much more convenient, practical and economical – just like we had planned it. And as neighbors, we all experienced the joy of cooperation and sharing, social skills that we had learned way back in kindergarten. In cohousing, , Jessie or I (mostly Jessie) would go knock on doors if we were missing two eggs for French toast or milk for the pancakes. We never had to drive to the store to buy a dozen eggs when we only needed one or two, or to get a quart of milk when we only needed a cup. > > So now, for the time being, we stock the fridge with all the stuff we might need, foraging around our 14-cubic-foot refrigerator like a coyote who can't remember where he buried his bone. And did I mention all the leftovers that we ate last week and are no longer appealing, but we won't throw away until they're ripe? > > Because we're cooking and eating at home more often, there's a lot more busy work, too. It seems like I'm always cleaning the stove, washing the cutting boards, loading or unloading the dishwasher, or taking out another load of garbage or compost. By the time I finish cleaning up it's almost time to start over for the next meal. It all feels so important at the time, but it's not. > > " Jessie, will you please help bring in the groceries from the car? " I ask. " I'd rather finish building our new cohousing than bring in the groceries, " she replies. " We're working on it, " I sigh. > > Nevada City Cohousing is two months into a 12-month construction process. We plan to have dinner six times a week in the common house. I can't wait to get back into cohousing so I can get my life back. > Chuck Durrett, coauthor of Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves and author of the recently released Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Independent Living, has visited more than 285 cohousing communities, researched 46 in-depth, designed 38 and lived happily in one for 12 years. > Pictures: McCamant, Chuck Durrett and their daughter Jessie Durrett out for a stroll in Nevada City, CA; Doyle Street Cohousing, Emeryville, CA > -end- > Overview http://www.cohousing.org/overview.aspx > Cohousing is a type of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighborhoods. > > Cohousing residents are consciously committed to living as a community. The physical design encourages both social contact and individual space. Private homes contain all the features of conventional homes, but residents also have access to common facilities such as open space, courtyards, a playground and a common house. > > Old-fashioned sense of neighborhood > > Cohousing communities are usually designed as attached or single-family homes along one or more pedestrian streets or clustered around a courtyard. They range in size from 7 to 67 residences, the majority of them housing 20 to 40 households. Regardless of the size of the community, there are many opportunities for casual meetings between neighbors, as well as for deliberate gatherings such as celebrations, clubs and business meetings. > > The common house is the social center of a community, with a large dining room and kitchen, lounge, recreational facilities, children’s spaces, and frequently a guest room, workshop and laundry room. Communities usually serve optional group meals in the common house at least two or three times a week. > > The need for community members to take care of common property builds a sense of working together, trust and support. Because neighbors hold a commitment to a relationship with one another, almost all cohousing communities use consensusglossary.aspx as the basis for group decision-making. > > What makes cohousing communities unique > > The cohousing idea originated in Denmark, and was promoted in the U.S. by architects McCamant and Durrett in the early 1980s. The Danish concept of " living community " has spread quickly. Worldwide, there are now hundreds of cohousing communities, expanding from Denmark into the U.S, Canada, Australia, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and elsewhere. > > In a cohousing community, you know who lives six houses down because you eat common meals with them, decide how to allocate homeowners dues and gratefully accept a ride from them when your car’s in the shop. You begin to trust them enough to leave your 4-year-old with them. You listen to what they have to say, even if you don’t agree with them at first, and you sense that you, too, are being heard. > > Cohousing residents generally aspire to " improve the world, one neighborhood at a time. " This desire to make a difference often becomes a stated mission, as the websites of many communities demonstrate. For example, at > Sunward Cohousing near Ann Arbor, MI, the goal is to create a place " where lives are simplified, the earth is respected, diversity is welcomed, children play together in safety, and living in community with neighbors comes naturally. " At > Winslow Cohousing near Seattle, the aim is to have " a minimal impact on the earth and create a place in which all residents are equally valued as part of the community. " At > EcoVillage at Ithaca, NY, the site of two adjoining cohousing neighborhoods, the goal is " to explore and model innovative approaches to ecological and social sustainability. " > > Many other communities have visions that focus specifically on the value of building community. Sonora Cohousing in Tucson, AZ, seeks " a diversity of backgrounds, ages and opinions, with our one shared value being the commitment to working out our problems and finding consensus solutions that satisfy all members. " > Tierra Nueva Cohousing in Oceano, CA, exists " because each of us desires a greater sense of community, as well as strong interaction with and support from our neighbors. " > elder-cohousing.aspx-end- > The Cohousing Association of the United States > 1750 30th St #617 > Boulder, CO 80301-1036 USA > 314-754-5828 (voicemail) > > > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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