Phone us 267-521-2646

Wissahickon Village Cohousing

Philadelphia, PA

Urban, inclusive, intentional

Interior courtyard of Sacramento Cohousing Community

What is Cohousing?

Cohousing communities were first developed in Denmark in the late 1970s to revive community in neighborhoods. Of course, once community minded Americans got wind of this concept in the late 80s, it didn’t take long before the first cohousing community was up and running in 1991. By mid 2005 there were nearly 80 established cohousing communities in the U.S. and another 51 now in the development stage.

Cohousing communities are not religiously or politically based, they are simply intentional neighborhoods where members/residents agree to be good neighbors and to look out for each other. Members live independently in their own homes but have the unique convenience of a common house centered near the homes in which to share community dinners and have access to shared resources.

Recommended Books

The Cohousing Handbook: Building a Place for Community, by Chris Scott Hanson and Kelly Scott Hanson. New Society Publishers, 2004

Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities, Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett