“We wanted our kids to have a hundred parents. We wanted open space without fences. And a communal building at the center.”
A portrait of Sættedammen, the world’s first cohousing community, founded in Denmark in 1972. Told by Arne, 83, a co-founder, and Melanie, 42, a current resident.
“There’s no single word for what we are to each other. We’re more than neighbors but not quite family. Some of us are friends, others we’ve never invited into our homes.”
Life in Springhill, the UK’s first intentional cohousing community. With Ruth, 61, and Jeremy, 62.
A Commune for the Middle Class
“It was the mid-1980s. I was sitting in our shared living room when a neighbor asked, ‘Have you heard of cohousing? Apparently, we’re a pioneering group in England.’ I had no idea what she meant. I just said, ‘Well, isn’t that something. How did we manage that?’”
A visit to Thundercliffe Grange, the UK’s first unintentional cohousing community. With Jeremy, 70, a co-founder, and Polly, 42, a resident.
“My kids always say, ‘Mom, when you’re really old, we’ll take care of you.’ That’s my vision of hell. I don’t want them to remember me like that.”
Meet the women of OWCH — the UK’s first senior cohousing project designed by and for women. Featuring Maria, 75, the founder, and residents Margarita, 73, and Jude, 69.
“This was meant to be a space where we wouldn’t have to explain ourselves. Where no one would ask, ‘Where’s your wife? Any grandkids?’ Out there, we’re outsiders. In here, we’re just normal.”
Inside Berlin’s Lebensort Vielfalt, Europe’s first intergenerational cohousing project for gay men. With Dieter, 62, the initiator, and residents Klaus, 76, Horst, 77, and Robert, 40.