Cohousing and Eco Villages: A better way to living
Shared living is an underrated solution to many problems we face as a population in the United States. The homelessness epidemic has only been getting worse over the years, especially close to home in Portland, Oregon. Homelessness is driven by many factors such as lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment, low wages, addictions, or mental illness. Many people who are homeless, or even have a home, seek community. Community is a necessary trait to human existence, and without it life is lonely. According to many psychologists, there has been an exponential rise in loneliness. Cohousing offers many benefits, as followed:
Affordable living
The cost of developing a cohousing community versus full size homes is much less. Small homes that are under 1,000 square feet can be built for as little as $200 a square foot by using renewable and recycled materials. There are even cohouse communities that are being built today where people are building their own homes. Josh Ruby, from CohoUS, introduced the idea of a self help program offered through the USDA. This program would oversee people who spend 35 hours/week for 10 months to build their own home. These cohousing communities show trends of residents living there much longer and having strong ties to the community as a result of building together. Other benefits of cohousing are the economical advantages of sharing resources with other community members. Sharing tasks such as cooking, childcare, and driving, can offer a unique money saving lifestyle. Between being able to offer more affordable rental prices, having the opportunity to own and build, or share tasks cohousing makes living much more affordable.
Sense of Community
In addition to saving money, cohousing can offer social benefits as well. Living in a close-knit community supports relationships with other people and offers a sense of belonging. This is an essential part of humanity and studies have shown that people who feel a part of a community have better mental health outcomes than those who live alone or who do not have strong social connections. Feeling isolated or disconnected from the world is a sign that a sense of community has been lost, and cohousing is a great option to get reconnected.
Sustainable living
Sustainability is a major plus for cohouse living. By sharing resources such as water, electricity, and land, people who live within cohouse communities are helping the environment more than the average person. Community gardens also encourage people to grow their own food, leading them to be more environmentally conscious and aware. On top of that, cohouses are built with conservation in mind. By utilizing natural resources such as solar for energy, land for food, and reduced water usage cohouse communities support sustainable lifestyles. Not only does it lower environmental impact when the homes are in use, but the building of cohouse communities ultimately takes less resources than the standard development because of this. This leads to a smaller environmental footprint, allowing for more cohouse communities to exist without harm.
As you can see, there is a plethora of reasons cohousing is a great solution for the lack of affordable housing, environmental damage due to housing development, and offering a basic human need of community. Portland, Oregon is proud to host cohousing and intentional communities within our city. Here are a few of the varied communities in Portland. If you are looking for a unit to rent or buy in Portland, please consider these other communities:
Check out the The Cohousing Association of the United States at https://www.cohousing.org/ for more information of cohousing.
Comments
Post a Comment