Senior Cohousing Provides Community Assistance with Living

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Some seniors prefer intergenerational cohousing. There are 21 seniors (and 37 kids) in Nevada City Cohousing. Other seniors prefer senior cohousing.
Some seniors prefer intergenerational cohousing. There are 21 seniors (and 37 kids) in Nevada City Cohousing. Other seniors prefer senior cohousing.
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Sketch of Hearthstone Cohousing Community, North Denver, Colorado.
Sketch of Hearthstone Cohousing Community, North Denver, Colorado.
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Bellingham Cohousing, Bellingham, Washington.
Bellingham Cohousing, Bellingham, Washington.
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Pleasant Hill Cohousing, Pleasant Hill, California.
Pleasant Hill Cohousing, Pleasant Hill, California.
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FrogSong Cohousing from the air.
FrogSong Cohousing from the air.
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Common work days like this one at Bellingham Cohousing take care of outdoor maintenance. Commonly, people are obligated to 20-30 hours per year to maintain common real estate. Older residents often help shop, make snacks, or do related administration, but never underestimate their work ethic.
Common work days like this one at Bellingham Cohousing take care of outdoor maintenance. Commonly, people are obligated to 20-30 hours per year to maintain common real estate. Older residents often help shop, make snacks, or do related administration, but never underestimate their work ethic.
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Nevada City Cohousing.
Nevada City Cohousing.
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Nevada City Cohousing site plan.
Nevada City Cohousing site plan.
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“The Senior Cohousing Handbook” by Charles Durrett.
“The Senior Cohousing Handbook” by Charles Durrett.

Successful and dignified aging for most seniors means maintaining control over their own lives and not feeling burdensome to their children. Unfortunately, with living situations limited to options like retirement facilities, assisted living, personal caregivers, or reliance on family for help and housing, the loss of independence and self-sufficiency may seem unavoidable. In The Senior Cohousing Handbook, Charles Durrett not only gives an enlightening overview of cohousing as a whole, but encourages seniors and families to consider this approach to aging with their independence intact. Cohousing is a way of cost-efficient, environmentally-friendly communal living, where custom-built neighborhoods fit the needs and aspirations of their residents. Here there are shared resources, safety and security, and perhaps most importantly, accessible social contact, which leads to better physical, mental, and emotional health. Built with an intentional emphasis on autonomy, cohousing provides a way to grow old in community.

In villages, people work together to build a schoolhouse, raise a barn, harvest the crops, celebrate the harvest, and more. Similarly, residents in cohousing enjoy the benefits of cooperation, whether by organizing common dinners, social activities, or caring for an elderly resident. Both communities build social relationships by working together to address practical needs. Cohousing offers the social and practical advantages of a closely-knit neighborhood consistent with the realities of 21st-century life. While incorporating many of the qualities of traditional communities, cohousing is distinctively contemporary in its approach, based on the values of choice and tolerance. Residents choose when and how often to participate in community activities and seek to live with a diverse group of people. Cohousing is a “best of all worlds” solution.

In addition to its social advantages, cohousing offers numerous environmental benefits. Depending on the design, cohousers on average drive about 60 percent less and use 50-75 percent less energy for heating and cooling than they did in their previous homes (for a family of three), in part because the passive cooling measures (cross ventilation, holding the night cooling, etc.), are so effective. Cohousing residences are about 60 percent the size of average new American houses, and cohousing communities on average occupy less than 30 percent as much land as the average new subdivision for the same number of households. But what impresses me most about working with cohousing communities is watching the best intentions of the group for living lighter on the planet percolate to the collective consciousness after being initiated by a few individuals. Community is really the secret ingredient to living lighter on the planet.

Six Components of Cohousing

Cohousing can be found in many forms — from urban factory loft conversions to suburban cities to small towns. Whatever the form, cohousing projects share these six components:

  • Published on Mar 27, 2021
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