Speeding the growth of mixed-tenure cohousing

22 July 2010

Cohousing at home and abroad

My story

I've lived at The Community Project cohousing in Sussex for last 11 years.

Didn't want to grow old on my own

I have a rich social and cultural life closely interwoven with others living here

I'm the envy of many of my friends

Want to pass on the baton to others

Common house meal at The Project, Laughton

What is cohousing ?

A way of living which brings individuals and families together in neighbourly groups to share common aims and activities while also enjoying their own self-contained accommodation and personal space.

Features of cohousing

- Self contained dwellings with shared facilities

- Intentional neighbourhood design

- Participatory development process

- Resident Management

Springhill

History of Cohousing

Started in Denmark in 1960s. Now hundreds in Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands & Belgium

Europe - well established way to provide affordable housing within mixed-tenure developments

USA & Canada – mainly home ownership. 120 exist & 50 more planned

A sprinkling in Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia & elsewhere

Current situation in UK

• 40 + groups seeking sites

• Many individuals seeking group to join

• 10 established cohousing projects

• Another tier of up to 60 loose coalitions

5000 hits on our website last month

Public and media interest

Threshold Centre, Dorset:mixed tenure cohousing

Obstacles

Land prices – single biggest barrier

Lack of capacity within groups

Difficulty in finding HA partners

Planning barriers

Partnerships

Need to develop partnerships with developers and housing associations

Commonplace in Europe & USA Advantages - more likely to succeed - get built quicker & often at less cost

But need professional cohousing infrastructure to broker partnerships

International cohousing contacts

Last 3 years Network had extensive contact with cohousing professionals & communities in USA & Scandinavia

Mark Westcombe – 3rd visit to USA a month ago

Me - 3 week study tour in Sweden and Denmark in May

Some personal observations follow....

Swedish cohousing

45 cohousing schemes, mainly urban

Result of civil society campaigns and support from public housing authorities during the 1980s.

Last 20 years - abolition of subsidies & ideological shift to private market. Right to buy & sell out of public housing stock. ( Sweden & Denmark)

Recent resurgence - a trend towards collaborative housing – 6 new schemes built in last 5 years & more are on their way

Swedish model – low-rise flats

Mainly blocks of flats

Some new-build, others conversion from existing residential blocks

Cheaper and easier & less risk for housing companies - can easily convert back to conventional housing

Communal facilities on ground floor and basement with individual units on the upper floors. Sometimes a communal roof patio

Regnebagen, Lund, Sweden

Russinet, Second half of life cohousing, Lund, Sweden

Slottet, intergenerational cohousing (retrofit) Lund, Sweden

Size of units

Average size of individual homes in cohousing in Sweden and Denmark seem small

So as to keep them affordable

Exceptions to planning requirements allowed because of the communal space available

Size of units (con't)

The senior cohousing units I visited were small but beautifully designed & worked well

But several family units in intergenerational housing seemed rather overcrowded However, often long waiting lists show units are very sought after

Some residents said they needed more space, but said they adapted because so keen to stay

Examples of unit sizes

BoActive Landgangen: 'second half of life' (senior) cohousing project in Malmo, Sweden, built in 2008 - one bed unit = 58 sqm - two bed unit = 70 sqm

Tre Portar, intergenerational scheme in Stockholm - three bed unit = 87sqm - four bed unit = 97 sqm

TrePortar – intergenerational cohousing, Stockholm

BoActive Landgangen - 2nd half of life cohousing, Malmo

Denmark

350 cohousing units for senior citizens with 6000 residents

140 intergenerational cohousing schemes

Residents typically give up part of own housing area

to the common areas – thus reducing construction

Costs

Most new cohousing units are terraced or cluster houses built around a common area with

common house centrally positioned.

Absolons, Roskilde, Denmark

Absolons, Roskilde, Denmark

Kilen, intergenerational cohousing, Osterhoy, Denmark

Kilen

Kilen

Ahusane, Roskilde, Denmark

Munksogaard, Denmark: cluster of 5 mini-cohousing schemes

Eco/village cohousing scheme comprising: - 5 cohousing clusters - 10 years old, 100 units, 250 residents - 40 owned, 60 rented

The clusters are: - senior rented - young people rented - intergenerational owner occupiers - intergenerational shared ownership (% owned with mortgage, rest in rent) - intergenerational rented

Munksogaard, intergenerationalowner occupier

Munksogaardintergenerational rental

Munksogaard, owner occupier common house dining room

Munksogaard, 2 bed unit, intergenerational rental

Lessons

Facilities & structure for communal eating essential

Positioning intergenerational & senior cohousing in clusters or adjacent works well

Include cohousing features in masterplanning big estates (cf Munksogaard & Egebjerg in Denmark)

Support from committed housing professionals &

leadership from enlightened municipal housing authorities can really make a difference