cohousing

[koh-hou-zing]

noun

1. a cooperative living arrangement in which people build a cluster of single-family houses around a common building for shared meals, child care, guest rooms, etc.

2. the cluster of houses with the common building.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cohousing¹

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

There are also cohousing communities where individual homes — sometimes even tiny homes — are arranged around a building with a communal space such as a dining room.

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Although cohousing projects are typically built on properties that have municipal water and sewer, she said, the Rocky Corner project was a rural property and involved reserving a portion of the land for farming.

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The remaining members are hopeful that Ion Bank will sell the project to a developer interested in following through on the cohousing effort.

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For Claudia Ruffle, living in a cohousing community was a lifelong dream.

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Cohousing, a form of collaborative living that originated in Denmark, provided “a structure where I didn’t have to be outgoing and could still get the benefit of getting to know people,” said Ruffle, 72, a former substitute teacher and administrative secretary.

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