What is Cohousing?

Cohousing is an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space.
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Each attached or single family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces typically feature a common house, which may include a large kitchen and dining area, laundry, and recreational spaces. Shared outdoor space may include parking, walkways, open space, and gardens. Neighbors also share resources like tools and lawnmowers.
Households have independent incomes and private lives, but neighbors collaboratively plan and manage community activities and shared spaces. The legal structure is typically an HOA, Condo Association, or Housing Cooperative. Community activities feature regularly-scheduled shared meals, meetings, and workdays. Neighbors gather for parties, games, movies, or other events. Cohousing makes it easy to form clubs, organize child and elder care, and carpool.

Cohousing is designed by the future residents, making it unique to anything currently available on the market in West Sacramento.
For a single woman, cohousing is delightful. I moved from an admittedly peaceful existence in my own quiet home to a community full of people and activity. The delight is that there is always someone around to have dinner with, to go to the movies with, or to sit on the patio and sip a margarita with and rave about how the garden is growing. No need to make complicated plans, or even drive!

- Marty Roberts, Two Acre Woods in Sebastopol, CA 

Common Characteristics of Cohousing

Relationships
  • Neighbors commit to being part of a community for everyone’s mutual benefit.
  • Cohousing cultivates a culture of sharing and caring.
  • Design features and neighborhood size (typically 20-40 homes) promote frequent interaction and close relationships.
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Balancing Privacy and Community
  • Cohousing neighborhoods are designed for privacy as well as community.
  • Residents balance privacy and community by choosing their own level of engagement.​
​Participation
  • Decision making is participatory and often based on consensus.
  • Self-management empowers residents, builds community, and saves money.
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Shared Values
  • Cohousing communities support residents in actualizing shared values.
  • Cohousing communities typically adopt green approaches to living.
For more info on the many benefits of cohousing, see the links below.

Cohousing Around the Country

​There are currently 162 established cohousing communities nationally, with nearly that many in the formation stages. California is home to more built communities than any other state!
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View map below to get a sense of cohousing nationwide.