UK Government to Build Carbon Neutral Ecotowns
Posted on February 14, 2008 byWith grass-roots ecovillages pioneering sustainable living, the mainstream wants in on the action. The Guardian reports that the government in the United Kingdom has plans to build 10 carbon neutral ecotowns by 2020. The towns will have up to 5000-20,0000 homes, 10-100 times the size of most ecovillages, but will share a focus on ecological… Read More
An Intentional Community Radio Station?
Posted on February 12, 2008 byYou’ve heard of Christian radio, how about Krishna radio? Well, New Vrindaban, an intentional community in West Vriginia, is seeking a license for a full power radio station so it can broadcast on such topics as yoga, vegetarianism and lessons from The Bhagavad Gita. New Vrindaban was established 40 years ago by the funder of… Read More
Ecovillage Training Center Video
Posted on February 9, 2008 byWe’ve been wanting to have more video pieces on Community Buzz but video on community is just not as easy to find. We hope to start posting at least one video a week but to do so will need to include not just the latest and greatest videos. If you have a favorite online video… Read More
Renewable Energy and Cohousing Podcast
Posted on February 7, 2008 by[Note, as of February 2017, most of the links below are no longer active.] RenewableEnergyAccess.com has a podcast on cohousing and green building featuring Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, a cohousing community in New Hampshire. The 18 minute audio program focuses on the ecological features of the community including energy efficiency and design to minimize driving.… Read More
Cohousing – Both Green and Affordable
Posted on February 7, 2008 byGlobal Green USA profiled Chiacgo’s Greenway Park Cohousing on the BuildingGreen blog last week. The excerpt from their book, Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, describes how Greenway Cohousing managed to merge green building with affordability. Greenway Park is one of the first cohousing projects created exclusively for low-income residents (most such projects are for middle-… Read More
Cohousing Faces Resistance in Sacramento
Posted on February 7, 2008 by1 Comment
The Sacramento NewsReview reports that Sycamore Village Cohousing is facing some resistance from neighbors as it tries to get its plan approved by the local authorities. Despite its impeccable transit-oriented, environmentally friendly green design, plans for Sycamore Village were rejected in January 2007 by the Orangevale Community Planning Advisory Committee following complaints from area residents.… Read More
Coworking Brings Community to the Workplace
Posted on February 3, 2008 byWith more and more people working from home it isn’t surprising that some of them would start missing the camaraderie one can feel in a vibrant office spaces. If they aren’t lucky enough to live in community, or if they need a way to separate home and work life, coworking may be the answer. The… Read More
Area Communities featured in Seattle Times
Posted on January 29, 2008 byThere is a great article in the real estate section of the Seattle Times on intentional communities in the Seattle area. The article focuses mostly on the 15 cohousing communities in the Seatttle area featuring Jackson Place Cohousing and Songaia Cohousing. But at Jackson Place, the layout of the development encourages community interaction. All units… Read More
Ecovillage Helps Ithaca Rank as 2nd Greenest City
Posted on January 24, 2008 byThe city of Ithaca was second on the list of Greenest Cities in part due to the work of the Ecovillage at Ithaca an intentional community with two 30-home cohousing clusters. The Ecovillage was recently featured in Time magazine and is a great example of a community moving towards sustainability. Move.com profiled Ithaca and highlighted… Read More
Artists evicted from Brooklyn ‘Commune’
Posted on January 23, 2008 byWhile not a commune in the traditional sense, the residents of 475 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn, NY describe their home as a kibbutz or commune. Unfortunately they were all evicted a few days ago due to the building being a fire hazard. Evidently the building was not even supposed to have residential spaces. Some claim… Read More
Cohousing Communities in Small Towns Nationwide
Posted on January 21, 2008 byWith over 100 completed cohousing communities in the US, and the idea getting more and more interest and attention, its not surprising that we would see it cropping up in smaller towns across the country. In just the past few days we’ve found the following articles: Activists are working on getting a cohousing community started… Read More
Renewable Energy and Cohousing Reduce Home Energy Costs
Posted on January 19, 2008 by1 Comment
A recent article on RenewableEnergyAccess.com does a great profile on Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, a cohousing community in New Hampshire. The article focuses on the communities Green Buildings (which will receive a LEED Platinum rating) and on their wood pellet boilers which provide heat and hot water for the community. The wood boilers use local,… Read More
Cohousing in the Los Angeles Times
Posted on January 17, 2008 byThe LA Times ran a great article on cohousing just before christmas. It profiles Wolf Creek Lodge and focuses on senior cohousing as an up and coming trend.
Churches being recast as intentional communities
Posted on January 17, 2008 by1 Comment
An article in The Walton Sun from Santa Rosa Beach, Florida describes how a local church is thriving after recasting itself as an intentional community: “We haven’t set any growth records but certainly haven’t set out to do so. We have between 60 and 100 each week in worship. From a spiritual perspective, the church… Read More
Communes and Cohousing on Huffington Post and Good Magazine
Posted on January 17, 2008 byAn article posted on the Huffington Post, a progressive news and blog aggregator, suggests communes and cohousing as an option for the current generation’s economic and social woes. Looking closer it seems this article comes from Good Magazine. If it sounds as if I’m calling for a return of the commune, that’s because I am–or… Read More
Co-op America Highlights Eating Co-ops
Posted on January 14, 2008 byCo-op America published an article on eating co-ops in its Real Money newsletter. The article profiles a variety of groups around the country who have gotten together to share cooking and/or meals together. From college campuses to apartment buildings, and from suburban neighborhoods to cohousing communities, many busy people have found that cooking cooperatively, especially… Read More
Ecovillages in E Magazine
Posted on January 14, 2008 byEnvirontal magazine E has an article on the ecovillage movement. For some reason they lead off with six paragraphs on Arocsanti before the get into the general ecovillage trend, mentioning LA Ecovillage, Cleveland Ecovillage, the Ecovillage Training Center at the Farm. According to the study, the 379 “eco-villages” registered with the Global Eco-Village Network (110… Read More
Ecohood Profiled in Plenty
Posted on January 14, 2008 byPlenty Magazine has a short article on Eco Neighborhoods and urban ecology. Back-to-the-landers have been making a comeback of sorts, what with the rise of the farmers’ markets and localvores and organic lettuce-obsessed gourmands. But the bucolic visions that once drove folks to isolated rural stretches to farm the earth have shifted, and urban farming… Read More
Senior Cohousing in Rocky Mountain News
Posted on January 14, 2008 byThe Rocky Mountain News has an article on Senior Cohousing in Colorado, specifically featuring Silver Sage Cohousing. The couple, in their 60s, looked at various homes here until an ad in a Boulder Senior Center newsletter led them to Silver Sage Village. The community, one of the first active-adult co-housing communities in the United States,… Read More
Cohousing Based Author Gives Simple Living Advice
Posted on January 14, 2008 byThe Bouldenewspaper, The Daily Camera, has an article on a cohousing resident who has authored a book on simple living called Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle. However, unlike some of us, Wann really does walk the talk. As example, instead of lush Kentucky bluegrass, he has cultivated a front yard of… Read More
Green Mountain Communes Profiled on Indy Media
Posted on January 14, 2008 byIndy Media of New Hampshire has a great article on a variety of communes in the Green Mountain area over the past few decades. Read the article.
Emma Goldman Finishing School in Yes! Magazine
Posted on January 14, 2008 byYes! magazine has an article on the intentional community, Emma Goldman Finishing School. EGFS is an income-sharing household in Seattle and the article describes how EGFS members make do working under 30 hours per week per person. EGFS is a member of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities (FEC) a nationwide network of income-sharing groups. Read… Read More
Realtors talking up Cohousing for Seniors
Posted on December 22, 2007 byMore and more people are talking about senior and elder cohousing as well as multi-generational cohousing as a way for seniors to live out their later years in a supportive community. This talk is not just from cohousing activists but from mainstream realtors and elder activists. For many Seniors and Boomers, co-housing is more appealing… Read More
Washington Village Cohousing back to the drawing board
Posted on December 22, 2007 byBoulder citizens have gotten the Wonderland Hill Development Corporation to rethink its plans for the Washington Village site. After a successful petition drive, WHDC says they will go back to the drawing board and work with citizens to find an agreeable way to develop the site. “Our intention to resubmit is in good faith in… Read More
Podcast on cooperative options for seniors
Posted on December 19, 2007 byA conference in Charlottesville, VA spoke to the question of innovative options for aging in community. The panel is moderated by Dene Peterson of the ElderSpirit Community and panelists include: Marione Cobb of Twin Oaks; Monica Abbleby of the ElderSpirit Extension Project; Zev Paiss, co-founder of the Elder Cohousing Network; Marty Klaif of Shannon Farm;… Read More
Cohousing as a way to care for aging boomers
Posted on December 19, 2007 byWMBB discusses the tough question of how our society can care for our aging population as the baby boomers hit retirement. One option for aging boomers is cohousing: “We think boomers are going to find ways to co-habitate to take care of each other,” Thornhill said. “There’s not going to be anybody else to do… Read More
San Francisco to turn Treasure Island into an ecovillage
Posted on December 14, 2007 byWell they aren’t using the term ecovillage yet but San Francisco is debating what to do with Treasure Island, a human made island in the SF Bay with a now-defunct naval base. One idea is to turn it into a sustainable city. The plan calls for a car-free island with organic farms and natural waste… Read More
Worldwatch article on ecovillages and cohousing
Posted on December 12, 2007 byIn August Worldwatch published a nice article about ecovillages and cohousing and how they can help reduce one’s ecological footprint. This article is still getting picked up by other media, this time by Natural Life magazine of Canada. Many ecovillages are reducing energy use, localizing farming and creating more sustainable local businesses. Other environmentally minded… Read More
Ecovillages in the real estate section
Posted on December 11, 2007 byI always love seeing communities in the real estate section. Not when they are for sale, but when it seems they can’t figure out where else to put them. This article is from an online source calling itself “The People’s Media” which allows users to post news for distribution. It’s not the most accurate article… Read More
Quaker walkers visit Rosewind Cohousing and Port Townsend Ecovillage
Posted on December 10, 2007 byWell travelling bloggers do seem to stop in communities often and its nice to get their first hand descriptions of the place. And if you thought biodiesel or bikes were eco, check out these folks who are walking from Vancouver to San Diego. They stopped at Rosewind Cohousing and Port Townsend EcoVillage in Washington. Read… Read More
