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

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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.

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.

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.

An excellent,well written and personally photographed handbook on co-housing. For baby boomers and elders looking for community living, this book describes the history of the co-housing movement and takes you through the process of developing your own community. Great examples and personal stories that bring the whole concept to life. Full of excellent information, life, and joy.

Charles Durrett has captured the mood of the "positive aging" movement. Across the country,in coffee shops and gatherings of all kinds, I hear the "new elders"(the age 50+ crowd)holding courageous conversations about where and how they wish to live the second half of their lives. This book captures that mood and provides a clear and compelling guidance system for how to move the conversation into action. I recommend it all the time to my clients and readers.
Richard Leider
Author, Claiming Your Place At the Fire & Something to Live For

I found this friendly book full of excellent information when considering enriching housing solutions for those of us reaching our Elder years. Community is a truly essential part of staying alert, healthy and vital through the final stages of Life.

This idea of cohousing has reached the time in history to make a great difference in the family and each individual within the fabric of relationships.