Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Independent Living (Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent) (Paperback)

by Charles Durrett (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Cohousing is an entirely new way for seniors to house themselves with dignity, independence, safety, mutual concern, and fun. Providing an inside look at existing communities, SENIOR COHOUSING demonstrates how people can make the conscious choice to live independently through community.

About the Author
CHARLES DURRETT has designed more than 30 cohousing communities in North America, and coauthored the book that introduced the concept of cohousing to the United States. He currently lives in Nevada City, California, while his new cohousing community is being constructed.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: McCamant/Durett; 1st edition (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945929307
• ISBN-13: 978-0945929307
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #526,489 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elders Getting Together to Take Charge of Their Future, October 4, 2005

By	Kathleen Goss "writer" (Darwin, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

At last, here is a guidebook to a new way of aging for older Americans - a housing solution that at once addresses the need for privacy and for community; provides a net of security and mutual care without the institutional restrictions of assisted living; is environmentally friendly - and most importantly, is planned, designed, and built by the residents themselves.

Cohousing got its start in Europe and has been successfully translated to America. In a cohousing community, each household has its own, stand-alone private dwelling, which is smaller than the traditional single-family home. These private homes are clustered around a common house which provides the amenities that are often wastefully duplicated in traditional American housing. The layout of the homes and the entire community provides plenty of privacy while affording opportunities for as much social interaction as the residents desire.

The key to cohousing is that it is planned and built by the people who intend to live there, so the sense of community begins to develop during the planning process as interested participants winnow themselves down to a core group that is committed to building together, on a site they have chosen together, with a development program that they have evolved together through a consensus process.

Senior cohousing is the logical extension of the cohousing idea. Many senior cohousing communities already exist in Denmark, where the author, Charles Durrett, traveled extensively and interviewed community residents. In the United States Durrett and his wife, Katie McCamant, are the principals of The Cohousing Company, an architectural firm that specializes in facilitating the development of cohousing. Their previous book, Cohousing: A Contemporary Way of Housing Ourselves, pioneered the cohousing movement in America.

Senior CoHousing is an inspiring and practical guidebook to help older Americans get started organizing and planning a cohousing community. It draws upon the author's extensive experience in developing cohousing in the United States, and the shared experience of elders in Denmark who have been living in senior cohousing communities for years. Filled with inspiring photographs and helpful graphics, the book presents the nuts-and-bolts considerations that go into planning a senior cohousing community. For many Americans over 50, this book may be the first step toward creating a way of living out the final stages of life in a rewarding, stimulating, supportive environment, where one's choices find expression in a neighborhood of like-minded people.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Senior Cohousing Offers Exciting Possibilities for a Growing Demographic, February 7, 2006

By	Zev Paiss "Housing Consultant" (Boulder, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Charles Durrett's Senior Cohousing book will help lead us into the next 17 years as an estimated 75 million Baby Boomers head into retirement. It only makes sense that the generation that brought social and environmental awareness to the fore would be searching for a sustainable, suportive, self-managed community housing solution for their later years, and Durrett has outlined in detail how - and why - to go about it.

The stories and wisdom are from Denmark, where multigenerational cohousing began over 30 years ago. Since that time, cohousing has translated very successfully to over a dozen countries around the world, including over 90 completed neighborhoods in North America alone. With 20 out of the last 25 cohousing starts in Denmark being senior projects, we can only assume that Senior Cohousing on the rest of the planet will be as big - if not bigger - a hit.

Durrett has given us clear and useful intruction in Senior Cohousing for how to go about creating a Senior Cohousing neighborhood, from gathering other interested parties to finding land, hiring the design and development professionals and building a cohesive community. The step-by-step chapters are interlaced with impotant and interesting sidebars, illustrations and photographs.

The spirit of the book is both informative and fun. The candid photos, quotes and anecdotes drive home the glee with which these Elders are taking charge of their lives. Neighbors work and play together, share frequent meals, dance, bicycle, walk, and create poetry and art. After reading Senior Cohousing, for probably the first time in my life, I thought getting older might actually be a hoot.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent cohousing resource, January 10, 2007

By	Sharilyn Rediess (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are considering alternatives to aging in isolation or retiring to a gated golf course community, read this book. Senior cohousing is becoming the fastest growing segment of the intentional community movement. This book offers both how-to advice and the social rationale for aging in community.