Archive-name: housing-nontrad-faq
Last-modified: 1994/05/02
Posting-frequency: weekly

             ALT.HOUSING.NONTRAD FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

Contents

     * 1: What's This Group?
          + 1.1: Can I post looking for a roommate here? (NO!)
          + 1.2: Then what is this newsgroup about?
          + 1.3: Where can I find the latest FAQ?
     * 2: Cohousing
          + 2.1: What is cohousing?
          + 2.2: Isn't that exclusive? Sounds like a subdivision.
          + 2.3: What examples of cohousing groups can you point to?
          + 2.4: Where else can I read about cohousing?
     * 3: Nontraditional Houses

1: What's This Group?

   1.1: Can I post looking for a [summer sublet, roommate, etc] here?
          NO. THIS IS A WORLDWIDE NEWSGROUP. People in Sao Paulo, Brazil,
          have LITTLE TO NO interest in your desire for a summer sublet
          in Nice, France. Thank you. Use a newsgroup local to your
          facility or geographical area!

   1.2: Then what is alt.housing.nontrad about?
          This group was formed to discuss nontraditional housing. I had
          new ideas such as cohousing (see below) in mind when I created
          it. The group is meant for discussion of both alternative
          _households_ (multigenerational housing, which was once the
          norm, multifamily housing with shared recreational spaces, even
          Nerd Houses...) and alternative _houses_ (which I didn't have
          in mind at first, but I agree they're perfectly relevant to the
          group).

   1.3: Where can I find the latest FAQ?
          It's posted automatically to the newsgroup on a weekly basis,
          and is available by anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu
          (along with all other FAQs for the entire USENET).
          you can also find it on the World Wide Web at the URL
          http://siva.cshl.org/~boutell/nth_faq.html.


2: Cohousing

   2.1: What is cohousing?
          Cohousing, as I understand it, generally involves several
          adults (often several couples with children) living under one
          roof, with private bedrooms for singles or couples and shared
          common spaces (kitchen, recreation room...). There are two
          basic goals: to foster a sense of real community while
          preserving privacy, and to have the chance to choose your
          neighbors.

   2.2: Isn't that exclusive? Sounds like a subdivision.
          That's occurred to me too, and I'm not as thrilled about the
          idea as I used to be. For one thing, the cohousing groups that
          exist are prohibitively expensive for anyone who isn't very
          solidly middle class to begin with. The _intent_ isn't to be
          exclusive, but that's certainly the consequence. It also
          bothers me that cohousing groups often decide they want to move
          into a less populated area, build a new house, and abandon the
          cities they started from, which sounds an awful lot like a
          liberal version of "white flight" to me.

          But it doesn't have to be this way -- there's no reason (aside
          from the hard work involved!) why a cohousing group couldn't
          choose to locate itself in a poor quarter of a city, allow
          folks with less money to join and work hard to improve the
          external community. It might even be easier to do so with the
          support of the other members than it is for individuals.

   2.3: What examples of cohousing groups can you point to?
          None at the moment. Would someone please provide me with a list
          of groups they're aware of? (They do indeed exist, but I've
          lost my references for them.)

   2.4: Where else can I read about cohousing?
          Utne Reader, circa 1992-1993, had an issue that talked about
          it. I don't have it any longer. Can someone please provide me
          with a reference?

3: Nontraditional Houses

   _HELP!_ I have no material for this section, since it's not my
   specialty. Please send me what you've got on underground houses, tire
   houses, et cetera.