Towards a deeper understanding of the social architecture of co-housing: evidence from the UK, USA and Australia

TLDR

Co‑housing’s social architecture distinguishes it from similar shared‑space neighbourhoods and is gaining attention in Anglophone neo‑liberal economies amid conventional housing crises. The article focuses on the micro‑social practices of self‑organising resident groups that shape co‑housing communities and argues that understanding group processes, shared visions, and interpersonal capabilities is more important than material design. The study uses participatory research, gathering residents’ views from the UK, USA and Australia, to discuss co‑housing social architecture. The paper finds that group processes, shared visions, and interpersonal capabilities are the key glue binding collaborative community relations, challenging the usual emphasis on material characteristics.

Abstract

This article draws attention to the micro-social practices that self-organising resident groups engage in over the years that it takes to build a co-housing community. This 'social architecture' is what distinguishes co-housing from superficially similar shared-space neighbourhoods. Co-housing developments are attracting renewed attention in Anglophone neo-liberal economies against a backdrop of crisis in conventional housing. Discussion draws on the views of co-housing residents from participatory research from the UK, USA and Australia. By engaging with a deeper understanding of group processes, shared visions and interpersonal capabilities – the 'glue' binding collaborative community relations – this paper challenges the priority usually given to the material characteristics of home and neighbourhood design.