Remembering Michael Black

Michael Allan Black, one of America's foremost authorities on co-housing, died of a heart attack April 9 in Santa Rosa, CA, He was 70. Two of the best known projects he designed were Two Acre Wood in Sebastopol and Yulupa Co-Housing in Santa Rosa, where he had been living since 2005 with his wife, Alexandra Hart. "His strong belief was that community is one of the things that bonds people," she said.

Marty Maskall, the founder of Orangevale Cohousing, a forming group near Sacramento, says, "I feel honored that I got to know Michael Black. He was a gentle and calming presence." She met him while attending a workshop at Yulupa Cohousing in 2007, "At the time, I was feeling shell shocked because our project had just been rejected by the local Planning Council. Michael was very encouraging and he had several specific suggestions to help us. He made copies for me of letters of endorsement from mayors and other officials, and he taught me that getting letters like that could really help our project win approval." she remembers. "He was generous with his time, and a pleasure to talk with. I will miss Michael's gentle and encouraging spirit! He did much to advance the Cohousing movement."

Michael was looking forward to participating in the Coho/US conference in June and was scheduled to make a presentation on "The Role of Eclectic Spirituality in Deepening Our Connections." He intended to discuss an "eclectic spiritual perspective that enables us to embrace ourselves and our community life as sacred, in the same way that we can hold life itself as sacred — something to cherish, protect and serve. Viewing our community life through this 'spiritual lens' builds awareness, compassion, trust and openness."

He will be deeply missed.