From shared meals to shared tools, cohousing offers a vision of lower-cost, community-centered living. While that vision is taking hold in the U.K., communities in the U.S. face barriers that drive up costs and limit who can participate.

Can cohousing also be affordable housing? The short answer is yes. But this is rare in the U.S. The leaders of CohoUS, however, have recently adopted a new strategic plan that aims to change that—both by focusing more on converting existing neighborhoods into cohousing through what is often called a “retrofit” model and by developing in partnership with existing affordable housing providers, such as community land trusts (CLTs). 

Steve Dubb for Shelterforce