Cohousers don’t only talk the green talk, they walk the green walk.

Yet the sustainable lifestyle inherent in intentional neighborhoods is not always outwardly apparent to the greater community (minus solar panels on rooftops or street-facing gardens). It’s a goal of many forming communities to demonstrate these built-in savings, embodied in greener-built homes, on-site activities resulting in less driving and the overall sharing culture.

Cohousing groups across the country need project managers and marketing assistance to help them realize their dreams. CoHousing Solutions’ 500 Communities Program is halfway though its first year training. We’re starting to recruit for our next class!

Our Getting It Built Workshop comes almost exactly on the nine-year anniversary of the day I first heard of cohousing. At the time, I was a member of the Board of Directors of Tri-City Homeless Coalition (now Abode Services). In that capacity, I attended the Housing California Conference April 23-25, 2007 at the Sacramento Convention Center with fellow Board members Charlie Scribner and Doug Ford.

"Aging Gratefully: The Power of Community" (click for preview trailer) is a new documentary by Alan O'Hashi, a filmmaker and resident of Silver Sage in Boulder, CO. Alan's film includes interviews on aging in community with six of his cohousing neighbors. Visit his website to learn more about Alan's own Silver Sage story and his inspiration for examining the topics he does in this film.

What a great concept!

Social capital’s a fairly common buzzword these days, but I especially like the idea of taking stock of our connections. This notion, of a social portfolio, has been on my mind all week. In our age of near-constant digital connectivity, embracing our tangible community circles seems about as important as ever. I say this as a millennial, who's blessed to live in a tight-knit town. Yet this value finds equal footing as we age – and the clip where this concept came from brings this idea home.