Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities

The cohousing bible by the US originators of the concept.

A man's home is his castle. But demographic and economic changes haveturned our castles into islands. How can we regain the elements of the traditional village - family, cooperation, community and a sense of belonging - within the context of 21st century life?

Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities is an in-depth exploration of a uniquely rewarding type of housing which is perfect for anyone who values their independence but longs for more connection with those around them. Written by the award-winning team that wrote the original cohousing bible and first brought cohousing to North America, this fully-illustrated manual combines nuts-and-bolts practical considerations and design ideas with extensive case studies of dozens of diverse communities in Europe and North America.

Cohousing communities create unique opportunities for designing more sustainable lifestyles. Whether urban, suburban or rural; senior or intergenerational; retrofit or new, the authors show how the physical structures of cohousing communities lend themselves to a more efficient use of resources, and make everything from gardening to childcare to socializing easier.

Creating Cohousing puts the neighbor back into neighborhood; and is an essential resource for anyone interested in more environmentally and socially sustainable living.

Charles Durrett and his wife Kathryn McCamant are award-winning architects who introduced the concept of cohousing to the US. with their book Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves . Charles wrote The Senior Cohousing Handbook and, together with Kathryn McCamant, has designed over fifty cohousing communities in the United States and consulted on many more around the world.

Kathryn McCamant , and her husband Charles Durrett co-authored Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves and founded McCamant & Durrett Architects and The CoHousing Company. They coined the term cohousing for which they are credited in the Oxford English Dictionary. Kathryn has designed and developed dozens of cohousing communities and founded Cohousing Partners in 2006 with developer Jim Leach.