Cohousing Projects Increasing Nationwide

"There are now about 5,000 people living in 93 cohousing communities in 21 states. California, with 43, has the most, followed by Washington (17) and Massachusetts (16). In Northern California, cohousing communities have sprung up in Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, Morgan Hill, Pleasant Hill, San Mateo, Cotati, Davis and elsewhere. A hundred more are in various stages of the formation process -- two of the most recent in Grass Valley (Nevada County) and Fresno."

"'At first,' recalls cohousing architect Charles Durett, who lives with his family in a 34-unit cohousing community in Nevada City, 'we had to fight hard just to get our cohousing projects built. I had a police chief look me in the eye once and say, 'Hey, Chuck, multi-family housing equals crime.' '"