CREATING COHOUSING: RESOURCE LIST
Books
- The best general book on the field is ‘Cohousing’ by Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett (ISBN 0898155398): very useful case histories from Denmark and USA
- ‘Creating a Life Together’ by Diana Leafe Christian (ISBN 0-86571-471-1): good on group forming/dynamics, decision making and conflict handling.
- The first UK book on cohousing is: ‘Thinking About Cohousing’ by Martin Field (ISBN 0-9514945-7-0). It is useful on some of the particularities of the UK situation, and is strong on some of the legal/technical aspects, e.g. legal frameworks, specimen shareholders’ agreements, business plan check lists.
- There is a good new book on senior cohousing, mainly case studies from Denmark and the USA: ‘Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Independent Living’ by Charles Durrett (ISBN 0-945929-30-7)
- ‘Reinventing Community’ by David Wann (ISBN 1-55591-501-9): an enjoyable book with interviews with some of the leading figures in American cohousing, e.g. Charles McCamant, the first cohousing developer, architects, group facilitators, plus a range of community members.
- ‘Eco Village at Ithaca’ by Liz Walker (ISBN 0-86571-524-6), from New Society Publishers. This is a recent cohousing ecovillage which has attracted a lot of media interest. Frank account of the joys and challenges!
Websites
- The UK Cohousing Network includes both established and forming cohousing groups, and is a useful source of contacts and information. The web address is www.cohousing.org.uk.
- The Community Project in Sussex is the longest established cohousing project in the UK, and some of their documentation may be useful. See www.cohousing.org.uk/community-project
- The website for the Threshold Centre has details of their courses on cohousing and other topics, also general information about the project and details of their planning application and the supporting case. See www.thresholdcentre.org.uk
- The Hockerton Project in Nottinghamshire is not cohousing, but is an innovative small scheme demonstrating sustainable living. They offer useful information resources, and a matchmaking service to link projects and households. See www.hockertonhousingproject.org.uk
- Stroud Cohousing Project: this is the first new build cohousing group in the UK: www.springhillcohousing.com
Courses
- Weekend course: ‘Creating Cohousing’ at The Threshold Centre, Gillingham, North Dorset. This is one of the few cohousing projects up and running in the UK. An excellent way of experiencing cohousing in action.
See www.thresholdcentre.org.uk for further information.