How cohousing can make us happier (and live longer)

Chuck and Katie, as they are known to the cohousing world, are the birth parents of cohousing in North America. They introduced the concept to the US in the late 80's after they wrote the original edition of this book — which has become known as the "cohousing bible." The original was also my guidebook as I researched cohousing common houses around Denmark in 2004 — literally holding up pictures in the book along streets to identify the cohousing communities I was trying to visit. The Danes, unlike Americans, are not interested in creating a cohousing "movement" — it’s simply a way of life and another form of housing to them. So there is no website for a national organization, just books like this to provide a window into an alternative way of living.

This latest edition provides the how to's for starting a cohousing community, and it describes the different settings in which cohousing can be found. It also includes more photos from recently completed projects in North America and Europe, as well as the examples of how cohousing can lead to a more sustainable and community oriented way to live.

While multi generational cohousing might be attractive for some seniors, many are seeking an alternative way to age with others who are in the same stage of life — they are looking for mentorship from other elders as they experience elderhood themselves. This comprehensive manual provides step by step guidance on how to form a community, as well as a detailed series of study sessions (borrowed from a national Danish model) that a group might undertake to verify that they are ready for to embark upon the process of living in community and how they might consider accepting or offering help from others as they age. This is a great resource for those curious about, and proactively planning for, the latter third of their lives.

This author lives in cohousing and in this, her most recent book, she notes that as a Millennial she is in a generational cohort that will not be "better off" than her parent's generation. Her book challenges the present day ideal of "better off" and suggests that a new paradigm should be considered — one that focuses on self-fulfillment, meaning in life and happiness.

In reading books about urban design, it's easy to get bored or feel that you are reading an academic text. This book by Charles Montgomery is the antithesis of all those books and in fact an "easy read."

Montgomery vividly describes riding a bike through the streets of Bogota with its visionary Mayor Penalosa as he explains his motivation and methods for improving the health and happiness of his citizenry. There are plenty of other great examples of transformative placemaking from urbanologists like Jan Gehl — the premier placemaker from Denmark (amazing how such a tiny nation could export such radically simple ideas about our built environment — it's no wonder that the Danes are some of the happiest people on the planet). This book will inspire the pedestrian urbanite as well as die-hard professionals.

In an earlier draft of my talk, I referenced the fact that seniors were looking at co-living as a way to combat isolation as well as reducing their living expenses. The model for that was the 80's TV sitcom Golden Girls –—where four southern women became roommates. There was even an organization that sprang up to assist people in finding like-minded roommates.