Editing Cohousing (section)

== Characteristics ==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2022}}
Based on active participation by residents,<ref>{{cite web |title=what is cohousing |url=https://www.cohousing.org/ |website=cohousing.org |access-date=5 July 2024}}</ref> Cohousing communities are usually structured – in principle and often in [[architecture]] – to encourage interactions<ref name="Cleveland">{{cite web |title=Cohousing can offer social interaction and healthy cooperation |url=https://www.cleveland.com/homebuying/2017/05/cohousing_can_offer_social_int.html |website=Cleveland.com |date=22 May 2017 |access-date=5 July 2024}}</ref> and the formation of rich relationships among their members. Neighbors are encouraged to cooperate within the community and to care for each other.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Foster |first1=Judy |title=How to Help One Another |url=https://www.cohousing.org/how-to-help-one-another/ |website=cohousing.org |access-date=5 July 2024 |date=6 August 2019}}</ref> Community involvement is a way of life. So as to promote an interdependent village-like<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Courtney |title=Modern Housing With Village Virtues |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/opinion/modern-housing-with-village-virtues.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=5 July 2024 |date=20 September 2016}}</ref> experience where neighbors all know each other, cohousing developments are usually limited to around 20–50 homes and frequently feature large [[common area]]s where residents interact. While cohousing developments are designed to encourage community, residents have as much [[personal privacy]] as they want. Residents are able to choose how much they engage in order to find the right balance between their privacy and the community.<ref name="Segal">{{cite web |last1=Segal |first1=Corrine |title=Balancing privacy and community with design in cohousing |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/balancing-privacy-community-design-cohousing |website=PBS.org |access-date=5 July 2024}}</ref> Decision-making in cohousing communities is often based on building a consensus within the community.<ref name="consensus decision-making">{{cite web |date=29 June 2024 |title=Deciding Governance |url=https://www.cohousing.org/deciding-governance/ |access-date=30 June 2024 |website=cohousing.org}}</ref> Residents work together to maintain the shared space which they can all use,<ref name="Segal" /> usually saving money.<ref name=three>{{cite web |date=29 June 2024 |title=3 Proven Benefits Of A Cohousing Community |url=https://www.springhills.com/resources/cohousing-community |access-date=30 June 2024 |website=springhills.com}}</ref> At the same time residents manage their own space in ways that appeal to them.

Although most cohousing groups seek to develop multi-generational communities, some are also based on [[sustainability]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Lotus |date=5 August 2022 |title=Inspiring a Paradigm of Sustainability |url=https://www.cohousing.org/inspiring-a-paradigm-of-sustainability/ |access-date=30 June 2024 |website=cohousing.org}}</ref> others create supportive communities for senior living. Cohousing proponent and architect Charles Durrett wrote a handbook on creating senior cohousing<ref name="Durrett, Charles 2009" /> while the cohousing leader and architect Kathryn McCamant created the [https://www.cohousing-solutions.com/about-the-program 500 Communities Program] to train professionals to support groups building sustainable cohousing.  Although all cohousing communities are intentional<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ic.org/directory/community-types/ |website=ic.org |access-date=30 June 2024 |title=Community Types }}</ref>—including many ecovillages<ref name="Albright" /><ref>{{cite web |last1=Christian |first1=Diana Leafe |date=14 October 2008 |title=But is it really an "Ecovillage"? |url=https://www.cohousing.org/but-is-it-really-an-ecovillage/ |access-date=1 July 2024 |website=cohousing,org}}</ref> (such as [https://sawyerhill.org/ Sawyer Hill] in Massachusetts and [https://laecovillage.org/ Los Angeles Ecovillage] in California)--the broader term of intentional communities encompasses alternative forms of living, ranging from communes to [[Ashram|ashrams]] to [[Monastery|monasteries]] which aren't always managed collaboratively and don't necessarily include the privacy and individual living space of cohousing.  The collaborative democracy<ref name=three/> that distinguishes cohousing generally provides a foundation for a range of beliefs and ways of understanding to flourish,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Courtney |date=9 April 2024 |title=Ten Lessons in Neighborliness From a Cohousing Community |url=https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/ten_lessons_on_neighborliness_cohousing |access-date=30 June 2024 |agency=Greater Good Magazine}}</ref> however some cohousing communities are instead based on shared religious beliefs or philosophy.<ref name="religion in cohousing">{{cite web |last=Cimino |first=Richard |date=1 February 1999 |title=Spirituality and community drive co-housing movement |url=https://www.rwarchives.com/1999/02/spirituality-community-drive-co-housing-movement/ |access-date=30 June 2024 |website=rwarchives.com}}</ref>