Letter: We must try new kinds of housing developments

In order to help solve our growing local housing crisis, we must be willing to try new types of housing developments. The oversized McMansions that most builders prioritize today are too expensive and out of alignment for most homebuyers. The average household size has decreased significantly in the past 20 years. However, smaller homes are few and far between. Many prospective buyers get nervous when purchasing a smaller home because of the lack of amenities.

There is a newer housing type that is starting to pop up around the nation, which holds solutions for people who want the privacy of their own homes, but also a shared community of an established neighborhood. Cohousing is a model derived from Europe where smaller houses surround a shared common space. This could mean a shared green, a clubhouse or a dining facility. Importantly, cohousing taps into the economies of scale. Not everyone needs to have a lawnmower or power tools. What if you owned them in common? This is similar to how many condominiums work in practice. There is a key difference though: intentional design to facilitate neighborly interactions that are deeper than simple conversations outside.

Many cohousing developments have community kitchen spaces where at least once a week shared meals are held. Cohousing is also a democratically governed housing type that maintains homeownership but allows for collaboration on programming and shared resources like tools.

If you are interested in learning more about cohousing in Bloomington-Normal, find us at .

Noah Tang, Bloomington