Intentional Neighbourhood Design

Cohousing communities are specifically designed to encourage opportunities
for interaction between neighbours. This differs dramatically from typical
neighbourhoods today which are designed to accomodate the automobile.

Pedestrian Orientation

Most cohousing community are designed to be pedestrian friendly. This
means the automobile is usually put in parking lots away from the main
community area. Units are built closer together and have a pedestrian
walkway in front of their doors in stead of streets. This design resembles
villages built before the automobile became king. The pedestrian walkways
often have benchs, children play areas and meeting nodes.

Kitchens in the Front

Cohousing homes are also designed slightly different from typical homes.
In cohousing, the homes are designed with the kitchen and other busy rooms
facing the pedestrian street. In this way the residents can watch their
children play or whatever else is going on. The private areas of the
individual homes face to the back away from the pedestrian street. This
ensures every unit has its share of privacy.

Common House Centrally Located

Most cohousing communities have the common facilities centrally located, often
between the parking lot and the homes. The common house often contains the
mail boxes. People coming home from work or wherever walk by the common
house to pick up their mail and bump into each other.