SO HAPPY TOGETHER: THE LATEST TREND IN COMMUNITY LIVING
A co-housing comeback? Plus: The latest nightlife trend
A lifestyle trend that first started back in 1960s Denmark, co-housing
may be making a comeback among progressive Gen Xers and Ys. Similar
to communes but with more personal space, co-housing communities are intentional communities—usually consisting of between 20 and 40 households—created with the aim of having close interaction with neighbors, sharing resources and living sustainably. While each family lives in a private home, all residents take an active role in planning, designing and managing the community and share common facilities such as a large kitchen and dining room for group meals, laundry facilities, childcare, and tool sheds. Homes are usually placed in close proximity to not only facilitate socializing, but to also conserve the utmost green space which is used for gardening, exercise and playgrounds. There are currently over 150 co-housing communities in the United States in urban, suburban and rural settings.
While co-housing used to be a fringe movement, it is now resonating with Xers and Ys who are starting families, searching for community and looking to pool resources. NY residents interested in becoming a part of such a community can join the recently formed Brooklyn Cohousing Group
which is hoping to create a housing complex in the kid-friendly Park Slope area. Unlike other planned communities, co-housing residents do not share a common economy, belief or religion, but are devoted to building a community support system. Turnover in co-housing communities is low and there are often waiting lists for new residents. As people become more strapped for both money and time, we imagine this will become a trend we’ll be hearing more about.
And by the way: The latest bar entertainment trend is YouTube request nights; patrons request their favorite viral video, music video, or share a video they’ve made and watch them on a large projection screen.
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* trendcentral articles are designed to be trend reports, not endorsements * The Intelligence Group is a trend-forecasting and marketing Consultancy focused on Gen X, Gen Y and Tweens. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated studies, The Cassandra Report, Tween Intelligence, Latino Intelligence, and Mom Intelligence, contact Alina Goncalves at 212-277-5299 or via email at agoncalves@intelg.com.
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