Cohousing Directory - Community View

The Los Angeles Eco-Village (LAEV) was founded in 1993 in the two-block neighborhood of Bimini and White House Place in the intensely urban Wilshire Center/Koreatown area of Los Angeles. Started as a project of the nonprofit Cooperative Resources & Services Project (CRSP)after the 1992 civil uprisings, our purpose is to demonstrate the processes of becoming a healthy and sustainable neighborhood socially, ecologically and economically. The start-up of LAEV was the culmination of a 10-year planning process for a new-construction ecovillage seven miles away from the current location. The uprisings were a wake-up call for LAEV planners: we decided to heal our already existing built-out older neighborhood! We felt this was essential if there was to be any significant quality of life in the future of urban dwellers. We were also on a mission to influence city dwellers everywhere to establish more cooperative and ecologically sensitive living patterns.

We are still working toward a common vision among the very diverse intentional and preexisting neighbors who live here. Overall, the founding vision included demonstrating lower-impact and higher-quality living patterns among newly arriving Eco-Villagers and pre-existing neighbors drawn to that vision.

Those interested in becoming members are requested to demonstrate their commitment to more ecological and cooperative living patterns. We try to balance our diversity in the following areas: income, ethnicity, generations, gender, and household composition.

There are about a dozen proactive Eco-Villagers within the current 35 person intentional community. There are approximately 500 residents in the two-block neighborhood. The vision for some of us is that someday all or most who live in the two blocks will manifest Eco-Village values. Some neighbors who are not participating, nonetheless, appreciate the work that has been done to make the neighborhood a safer, more friendly place.

Over the past decade, CRSP has purchased two apartment buildings (48 units of housing, including two common units) which we are slowly eco-retrofitting. The intentional community is now organizing to create a community land trust and a limited equity housing co-op designed to keep the buildings (and other properties close by)permanently affordable for low to middle income households.

A residents' group meets weekly and establishes priorities and policies for the buildings, the intentional community and the neighborhood. A number of organic gardens are contained within the two buildings and at another location in the neighborhood. Regular community dinners open to other neighbors, friends and relatives help glue the community together.

The very dense neighborhood is three miles from downtown with many public and private schools, colleges and universities. We are also rich in public transit and bicycle culture with many employment and green-business development opportunities for those with entrepreneural spirit. Several intentional neighbors live and work in the neighborhood, though not all in community-controlled businesses.

Many intentional neighbors are actively involved in social, ecological, and planning issues in the city.

Although many Eco-Villagers are child friendly, we do not currently have policies or rules for children. Several non intentional neighborhood children have been regularly included in LAEV activities. Many children live in the neighborhood or come through the neighborhood daily since there is a youth center, tot lot, K-2 public school and a middle school in or adjacent to LAEV.

The downside of the neighborhood is that there is still way too much traffic and pollution.

We provide regular tours, urban-sustainable-community workshops, public talks on a variety of related topics, and affordable accommodations for short stays.