ln Pâttlal Futftllnant of Èhê - MSpace at the University of Manitoba

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The cohousing communities are not built on the basis of a
religious beLief or a specific ideology. They are built because
peopì.e are dissatisfíed with the ability of traditional housing
alternatives to neet the needs of contemporary fanilies.
Cohousing communities, because they are designed, bui1t, and
managed by residents, êrê better able to meet the individual
needs of those residents. The design of the overall community
is ca¡ried out over an extended period of time by aII of the
future resídents. This allows people to have greater knowledge
of their neighbours than they would in a traditional residential
setting. This together with the physical design of the area
being that of a geographic community promotes a sense of
connunity and therefore a greater sense of conmunity (McCanant
and Durrett 198I 1-17 ),
Living in an envi¡onment where you have had a say ín the
style and layout of not just your home but the larger geographic
comnunity ís an enpowering situatíon. There exists an eLenent
of control due to the increased personal nature of your
environment. By rejecting traditíonal housing alternatives and
choosing to explore an alternative outside of the norm, the
cohousing group becorûes enpowered as a connunity, Their power
Lies ín the control they exercise over their physical
environnent.
ANALYSIS
Sherry Arnstein's article "A Ladder of Citizen
Participatíon" explains the various gradations of citizen