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The 2008 Cohousing Conference “was a resounding success,” says Craig Ragland,
Coho/US executive director. One participant said, “Anyone who has an interest in upgrading the way their life works should attend the conference. An overview and five pages of photos from the conference.

“I feel a little intimidated to say this,” the attractive older woman began hesitantly, “but living in senior cohousing next to Songaia was what drew me here in the first place. I don’t want to live in a community where children are the main focus. I do want this to be senior cohousing.”

It is the eve of the 2008 Cohousing Conference. It has been 20 years since the concept of cohousing was introduced to an increasingly transient and anonymous American population. It therefore seems like a natural time to step back and survey the movement’s current state, as well as its trajectory – to measure our successes and to recognize the work that lies ahead.

These tools of use to groups tackling issues come from Seeds for Change, a British nonprofit that seeks to equip those working for change with better skills.

After the November 2007 Japanese Ecovillage Conference in Tokyo, I visited three “collective housing” projects in Tokyo with conference host Akemi Miyauchi. At that conference I first heard of what the Japanese call “collective housing” – high-density housing projects with various kinds of common space – but it sure sounded much like cohousing to me.