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HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
LaQuerencia—Fresno’s First
Cohousing Community
BY LYNETTE BASSMAN
A new, more health-supportive way of living is coming to Fresno.
La Querencia/Fresno Cohousing is a group of families, couples
and individuals creating an earth-friendly, intergenerational
neighborhood of twenty-eight households.
Cohousing communities cluster privately-owned, self-suffi cient
homes around common facilities similar to an old-fashioned village
where neighbors know each other and kids run and play in
between the houses. There are extensive shared amenities that
typically include children’s play areas, a workshop, a pool, spa
and exercise facility, a teen hangout, and a beautiful common
house with gourmet kitchen, large dining room for community
dinners and other gatherings, a sitting area, guest apartment,
kid’s room and a shared laundry facility.
Cohousing emphasizes green living, with highly energy effi -
cient homes using non-toxic materials and energy conserving
materials and design. There are approximately 100 other
cohousing communities around the country, and another 100
in formation.
In addition to the obvious social advantages of living near
friends, residents of cohousing have more free time because
many of the routine activities of life are shared such as meal
preparation and yard work. Expensive or rarely used tools and
recreational equipment owned by the group are available to all.
Car-pooling and childcare may be easier to arrange.
Each home in the local co-housing neighborhood is complete
with kitchen, dining and living rooms, bedrooms and baths,
large front porches, and individual back yards. The architect
worked with community residents to maximize effi ciency of
space and energy.
By giving careful consideration to the placement of residences,
parking, walkways, swimming pool, play and garden areas,
open spaces, and the common house, cohousing maximizes
opportunities for neighbors to cross paths throughout the day.
The homes will face each other across a courtyard, and cars
will be parked on the periphery allowing for pedestrian walkways
and gathering spots between the homes.
LaQuerencia, like most cohousing, has no political, religious,
or ideological orientation. The only expectations are agreement
with the principles of cohousing and with the vision and values
statement. As in any healthy community, people will be tolerant
and respectful toward others. Members value privacy as
well as social contact, and the neighborhood design refl ects
a respect for each of these needs. Important decisions are
made through consensus.
Lynette Bassman is a licensed psychologist, Wellness
Connections member, and future resident of La
Querencia. For more information, call 866-246-7717, email
info@fresnocohousing.org or visit www.fresnocohousing.
org.
Do not go where the path may
lead, go instead where there is
no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Winter 2007 ● World of Wellness ● 19