Work

Towards a deeper understanding of the social architecture of co-housing: evidence from the UK, USA and Australia

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: This article draws attention to the micro-social practices that self-organising resident groups engage in over the years that it takes to build a co-housing community. This ‘social architecture’ is what distinguishes co-housing from superficially similar shared-space neighbourhoods. Co-housing developments are attracting renewed attention in Anglophone neo-liberal economies against a backdrop of crisis in conventional housing. Discussion draws on the views of co-housing residents from participatory research from the UK, USA and Australia. By engaging with a deeper understanding of group processes, shared visions and interpersonal capabilities – the ‘glue’ binding collaborative community relations – this paper challenges the priority usually given to the material characteristics of home and neighbourhood design.

Source: Urban Research & Practice

DOI: 10.1080/17535069.2015.1011429

Author: Helen Jarvis

Institution: Newcastle University

Language: English

Topic: Collaborative and Sustainable Housing Initiatives

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: University of Western Sydney, Economic and Social Research Council