Daily Real Estate News  |  March 25, 2008  |   Cohousing Grows in Popularity
Advocates for cohousing, a term used for private housing developments that include common facilities and offer communal meals and other shared benefits, say interest in these types of communities are growing as people cope with increasing economic pressures and face developing concern about the environment.

The most cohousing communities can be found in Colorado, Washington state, California, and New England, according to the Cohousing Association based in Boulder, Colo.

Between 1991 and 1995, 16 completed communities registered with the Cohousing Association of the United States; between 1996 and 2000 there were 31; and between 2001 and 2005 there were 37 more.

In the 1960s, similar communities were usually found in rural areas, but most of those developing today are in cities.

"Now it seems as though the movement has moved very urban," says Kelly Scotthanson, chief executive of Cohousing Resources, a cohousing development consulting company with offices in Washington state and Boston. "People are looking for more of a community within the context of a city environment."

Source: The Boston Globe, Susan Chaityn Lebovits (03/17/08)