CityLab examines the cohousing concept—a way of living popular in parts of Europe that has yet to take off in the United States. Could that be about to change?
Chris Bentley begins an article on cohousing by exploring examples of the concept in Copenhagen, where the living arrangement is more popular than in the United States. In fact, between 1 and 8 percent of Danes live in a cohousing arrangement of some variety.
The cohousing story has been slow to develop in the United States, however. According to Bentley, "[about] 130 cohousing communities exist in the U.S., according to the Cohousing Association, a nonprofit based in Durham, North Carolina. [Kathryn] McCamant, whose firm Cohousing Partners has built dozens of communities, predicts the number will double within 10 years.
Bentley adds a critical point about the potential adoption of cohousing in the United States: "If that happens it will be thanks to one demographic force of nature: baby boomers."
Bentley goes on to survey examples of "cohos" in the United States (such as the Ithaca EcoVillage), as well as some of the financial and regulatory hurdles to developing more.
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