Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities

A man's home is his castle. But demographic and economic changes have turned 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 twenty-first century life?

Now fully revised and updated, 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 that make everything from gardening to childcare to socializing easier.

Creating Cohousing puts the "neighbor" back into "neighborhood," and is an essential resource for anyone seeking to turn their cohousing dream into reality.

Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant are award-winning architects who introduced the concept of cohousing to the US with the first edition of their book Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. They have designed and developed over fifty cohousing communities in the United States and consulted on many more around the world. Charles is also the author of The Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent Living.

About The Author:

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.