Cohousing: a different way of living

Have you ever heard about cohousing? This trend is a habitability model defined by private homes with an important provision of common services. This proposal is allowing people of all ages to flee the isolation of big cities and find a more social and sustainable way of life.

What it is like to live in a collaborative house

When we talk about cohousing we don't mean a group of people sharing a flat. It is common for this to happen with university students or young people in the cities. Cohousing is a more complex model that encompasses different distribution proposals for homes and their common spaces. That is, it has more to do with the organization of an urbanization than with the distribution of a house.

Living in the cohousing style implies re-questioning the spaces dedicated to intimacy and those destined for living together. The living spaces can be both indoor (kitchen, living room, office) and outdoor (garden, pool, solarium). Of course, each person should explore which cohousing model best suits their profile.

Why this trend arises

Currently there is a difficult social situation especially in the elderly population: urban planning is individualized and sometimes invites isolation. Older people are the group most affected by this social isolation. We live more and more years but in many occasions the health conditions do not allow us to do it autonomously. For this reason, it is important to take old age in company and doing enriching leisure activities for mental and physical health.

The first cohousing model is of Danish origin and was born especially for elderly people. This way of life gives them the opportunity to share their day to day with other people who have a lot of free time and who want to invest it in a healthy way.

What benefits does cohousing have

When we refer to the benefits of cohousing, we don't just talk about the possibilities of social interaction that it offers. This is a proposal that is consistent with environmental sustainability. The predominant urbanism has been crossed out by researchers as bland and wasteful. Cohousing allows savings in energy resources and, as a consequence, represents an economic saving for those who practice it.

Living in community can become a great experience not only for people who are in the last stretch of their life. In ancient times, neighbors knew and supported each other in day-to-day tasks. Above all, it is important to understand that this model should not be a sacrifice for the user, since spaces for privacy are taken into account. The ultimate goal is to promote personal well-being while sharing and cooperating among residents. And you, would you be willing to try life in cohousing?