Cohousing is an intentional, collaborative neighborhood that combines private homes with shared indoor and outdoor spaces designed to support an active and interdependent community life.
Here in Jefferson County and Denver, we have several successful cohousing communities, including Harmony Village, a 27-unit townhome community in Golden, and Hearthstone Cohousing, a 33-unit townhome community built on the former Elitch Gardens site in northwest Denver. Both communities have common houses for group meals and other community activities. The common houses also have guest apartments that members can rent for visiting guests.
Cohousing communities like these are self-managed. Members pitch in to help with community chores. Typically, everyone knows each other by name. It’s all about being in community.
That doesn’t interest most people, but if it interests you, you can join Women in Sustainability and CohoUS on June 14th, 5 to 8 pm at Hearthstone Cohousing’s common house, 4700 W. 37th Ave., Denver, for a discussion and networking event. Attendees can take a tour of the complex starting at 5pm. At 6:30pm, there will be a short talk from CohoUS executive director Trish Becker-Hafnor, followed by a discussion of what it means to live in a cohousing community, myths about cohousing, and how cohousing benefits the environment.
I wrote about cohousing in my Dec. 29 column, which you can read at www.JimSmithColumns.com.
Trish Becker-Hafnor gave a TEDx Cherry Creek talk about co-housing. Here’s the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/trish_becker_hafnor_cohousing_the_future_of_community_and_human_connection/
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