Talk:Cohousing

narrow definition of cohousing
This article as previously written only looked at cohousing through the lens of Durrett and McCamant. Although they are key leaders in promoting cohousing, their view is not the only one. They certainly didn't introduce the concept to the US even if they coined the term. Built before they were born, Bryn Gweled Homesteads is over 80 years old; Monan's Rill was established in 1976 before Katie McCamant visited Denmark; and Spring Glen was founded in 1979. Muir has done a good PR job of promoting themselves as the first cohousing community in the US,as claimed by their architects and thus repeated by sources like Norwood. But that ignores the fact that great communities already existed or were in formation prior to Durrett and McCamant's efforts to standardize cohousing. Writing that N Street and Sharingwood embraced their approach doesn't change the reality that they and other communities were already underway prior to McCamant and Durrett's promotion of the concept.

Accepting only a limited definition of cohousing is a disservice to the broader cohousing community and excludes cohousing that developed organically. Some of the description also overlooks the specifics needs of urban cohousing. Look at the list of communities in the cohousing directory (https://www.cohousing.org/directory/) and you'll see there's room for a range of ways to live together in harmony in a supportive community while owning (or in some cases renting) your own living space. The McCamant and Durrett approach is just one vision.

For instance, because McCamant and Durrett are architects, this article has deemphasized a crucial component of most cohousing communities which sets it apart from other neighborhoods--self governance. The previous version also starts off focusing strictly on the physical structure, while it's the experience of living in cohousing that attracts most residents and sets it apart.

I made some changes to rectify this adding both context and specifics, although I left Muir as the starting point for McCamant and Durrett's prominence. 71.162.192.70 (talk) 18:48, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Paragraph about Grace Kim
Doesn't flow, needs transition from international info. Or maybe start off with Kim, then a seque into growth in other parts of the world. Perhaps it also should be in the context of other leaders in the field like Diana Leafe Christian. 71.162.192.70 (talk) 20:11, 30 June 2024 (UTC)