Co-housing can be a scary-sounding term to many American ears. It brings up images of hippie communes and the like. The reality is that co-housing is pretty much just another term for intentional community.
At the Josiah Community, we'll be using the co-housing model: Everyone will own their condos just like any other building, with the ability to sell it for full market value when they're ready to move on. We'll make decisions by consensus about what "community" means but it will probably include meals taken together in the common space and a willingness to assist and rely upon each other for many of our other needs.
To me, this looks a lot like the early church.
We're lucky enough to be working with architect Chuck Durrett, THE expert at co-housing in this country. His site can be found at http://www.mccamant-durrett.com/ if you want to see what he's all about.
Another reference for the co-housing model can be found at http://www.cohousing.org/, which is the site for the Co-Housing Association of the United States.
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For historical purposes, I (Jeff Welsh) have been interested in cohousing since the early 90's when it was still a small, new movement in the US. I was involved in the construction of an owner built attempt on S. Springfield Street in North Lawndale. I lived in an intentional community in North Lawndale at the time and I have always longed to get back to North Lawndale and into intentional community. I believe God is answering my long standing and continuous prayer with this building on Fillmore and I am very excited by the possibilities..
It's occuring to me that we are headed to more of an "intentional community" offshot from cohousing in general. Look, this is an intentionally Christian based movement with strong urban, social justice, reconciliation, care for the poor, early church feel that isn't going to appeal to the mass market and will put off many who yearn for community but don't want to be around a bunch of crazies (for the Lord) like us. That seems ok with me. If we (the crazies) want to make this happen (Josiah), we will have to market it by word of mouth and not thru the mass media. We need 45 family units (singles, dinks, m w/kids, and relics) so get out there and recruit!
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