Author: Molly
Arcosanti and Ecovillages in the Washington Post
Posted on April 21, 2008 by1 Comment
In honor of Earth Day, the Washington Post ran an article on Arcosanti with a sidebar on ecovillages as a green vacation destination. Arcosanti was started in the 1970s by Italian architect Paolo Soleri, a spitfire who seeks an alternative to a car-dominant, hyper-consumerist society. With his so-called urban laboratory, Soleri, 88, hopes to eliminate… Read More
Communes and Co-ops for Seniors
Posted on April 17, 2008 by1 Comment
Baby boomers are looking at moving into shared living and communal living according to the article Boomers go back to the commune in retirement on BankRate.com. Normally when a headline has the words ‘commune’ and ‘boomers’ in it they usually mean cohousing but this article is really about income-sharing communal groups. FIC’s directory lists about… Read More
Cohousing Helps Prevent Global Warming by Reducing Carbon Footprint
Posted on April 16, 2008 by1 Comment
Cohousing can help residents reduce their carbon footprint and help prevent global warming according to a paper from the University College London. Those living in cohousing consume nearly 60 per cent less energy in the home, and operate car-sharing and recycling schemes that greatly reduce the pollution from travel and landfill. Having facilities such as… Read More
Community, Economy, and Utopia at Forbes.com
Posted on April 12, 2008 by1 Comment
Forbes.com has a special feature section on Utopia which has a great article on intentional communities. The article gives an overview on the US movement with a focus on communities in New York and specifically the Ithaca area. The article includes Photo slideshow of communities around the world including Ecovillage at Ithaca, The Farm, Zegg,… Read More
Cubes and Crayons Provides Coworking for Parents
Posted on April 7, 2008 by1 Comment
The San Francisco Chronicle profiled a new Coworking facility in Menlo Park that offers both short term office space and professional childcare. Coworking, a cafe-like community/collaboration space for developers, writers and independents, has been a growing phenomenon but this may be the first place to offer such a kid friendly environment. “For new moms getting… Read More
Historic Communities in the News
Posted on April 2, 2008 by1 Comment
In the late 1700s and early 1800s the Harmony Society built three communities in Pennsylvania and Indiana attracting thousands of members and lasted for decades. The Harmonists are still making news in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review which recently ran a story on the historic commune. And Mary Ann Landis, director of Old Economy Village, says she… Read More
First Official UK Ecovillage Seeks Permits
Posted on April 1, 2008 byLammas Ecovillage in Wales is seeking approval for their ecovillage under new UK government rules to allow a new form of rural mixed use development. Theirs would be the first ecovillage approved under these new rules which allow a mix a residential, agricultural, and commercial enterprises on much more affordable rural land. Lammas has been… Read More
Cohousing Creates Permaculture Urban Forest
Posted on March 27, 2008 byManzanita Village Cohousing Community received a grant from the Arizona State Land Department to help expand its permaculture urban forest on its site in Prescott Arizona. The community will be holding a workshop in April to install water catchment systems for their common house which will irrigate the urban forest. The community’s 12.5 acre site… Read More
Ecovillage Bed and Breakfast
Posted on March 26, 2008 byThe Wild Goose Bed and Breakfast got some publicity for ecovillages on the Ithaca, NY local news. The bed and breakfast is located in the Ecovillage at Ithaca community just outside of town and draws customers interested in a green lifestyle. “I don’t have to turn on the heat once the sun’s shining in ’till… Read More
Ecology, Economy, and Cohousing in the Boston Globe
Posted on March 25, 2008 by1 Comment
The Boston Globe has a great article on how ecology and economy are driving Cohousing to grow as a movement. Interest in these types of neighborhoods is growing as more people look to build stronger communities, cope with increasing economic pressures, and live with others who share their concerns about the environment. “Many cohousing communities… Read More
Cross between a Commune and a Golf Community?
Posted on March 24, 2008 byABC News in DC did a short video spot on Catoctin Creek Village out in Loudon County, VA and compared the rural cohousing community to both a 60s commune and a golf community. Not the most flattering or accurate description of community but I guess there is no such thing as bad publicity. The commune… Read More
Cohousing: Building Seattle Green
Posted on March 24, 2008 byThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an interview with Coho/US Executive Directory Craig Ragland of Songaia Cohousing. Ragland gives the basics of cohousing touching on its appeal to the mainstream and its ecological possibilities: Part of what makes cohousing attractive is that it specifically attempts to create a model that is close enough to the mainstream. It… Read More
Cohousing – Community Means Healthier Living
Posted on March 11, 2008 byYour Health Connection has created a series of three videos on cohousing and how it can help enhance people’s health. The site generaly focuses on health care and and medical issues but did a special report on cohousing as a healthier lifestyle. Videos include interviews with folks from Frog Song Cohousing in Cotati, CA and… Read More
Sunset Magazine Profiles Portland Co-housing Couple
Posted on March 3, 2008 byIn an article titled “Green in Portland,” Sunset profiles three couples, one of them living in a co-housing development. Portland is famous for its natural beauty, it’s commitment to environmental values and its sheer liveabilty. “Clearly,this town is doing something right. And it all boils down to one simple idea: In Portland, people work together… Read More
LA Ecovillage Threatened
Posted on February 23, 2008 byLast week The New Statesman, a British current affairs magazine, carried a story about the LA Ecovillage in its online edition. The blogger, Johnathon Dawson, usually writes about life at Findhorn, an ecovillage in Scotland. I want to devote my blog this week to an extraordinary development unfolding in a poor, multi-ethnic, working-class neighbourhood some… Read More
Community at the Office: Coworking in the New York Times
Posted on February 20, 2008 byCoworking has hit the mainstream with an article in the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. From the Chronicle: In co-working, a group of freelancers or other solo entrepreneurs share one big office space with perks that they might not get at home, such as conference rooms, espresso machines and opportunities for socializing.… Read More
Energy Conservation Techniques Make Green Home Building Affordable at Abundance Ecovillage
Posted on February 19, 2008 byAbundance Ecovillage in Fairfield, IA made the local news with a wonderful piece on their growing ecologically focused community. The piece focused primarily on the ecological aspects: solar and wind power, energy conservation, rain water catchment, waste water treatment, food production, etc. Co-founder Lonnie Gamble started the project after several people approached him about how… Read More
UK Government to Build Carbon Neutral Ecotowns
Posted on February 14, 2008 byWith grass-roots ecovillages pioneering sustainable living, the mainstream wants in on the action. The Guardian reports that the government in the United Kingdom has plans to build 10 carbon neutral ecotowns by 2020. The towns will have up to 5000-20,0000 homes, 10-100 times the size of most ecovillages, but will share a focus on ecological… Read More
An Intentional Community Radio Station?
Posted on February 12, 2008 byYou’ve heard of Christian radio, how about Krishna radio? Well, New Vrindaban, an intentional community in West Vriginia, is seeking a license for a full power radio station so it can broadcast on such topics as yoga, vegetarianism and lessons from The Bhagavad Gita. New Vrindaban was established 40 years ago by the funder of… Read More
Ecovillage Training Center Video
Posted on February 9, 2008 byWe’ve been wanting to have more video pieces on Community Buzz but video on community is just not as easy to find. We hope to start posting at least one video a week but to do so will need to include not just the latest and greatest videos. If you have a favorite online video… Read More
Renewable Energy and Cohousing Podcast
Posted on February 7, 2008 by[Note, as of February 2017, most of the links below are no longer active.] RenewableEnergyAccess.com has a podcast on cohousing and green building featuring Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, a cohousing community in New Hampshire. The 18 minute audio program focuses on the ecological features of the community including energy efficiency and design to minimize driving.… Read More
Cohousing Faces Resistance in Sacramento
Posted on February 7, 2008 by1 Comment
The Sacramento NewsReview reports that Sycamore Village Cohousing is facing some resistance from neighbors as it tries to get its plan approved by the local authorities. Despite its impeccable transit-oriented, environmentally friendly green design, plans for Sycamore Village were rejected in January 2007 by the Orangevale Community Planning Advisory Committee following complaints from area residents.… Read More
Coworking Brings Community to the Workplace
Posted on February 3, 2008 byWith more and more people working from home it isn’t surprising that some of them would start missing the camaraderie one can feel in a vibrant office spaces. If they aren’t lucky enough to live in community, or if they need a way to separate home and work life, coworking may be the answer. The… Read More
Area Communities featured in Seattle Times
Posted on January 29, 2008 byThere is a great article in the real estate section of the Seattle Times on intentional communities in the Seattle area. The article focuses mostly on the 15 cohousing communities in the Seatttle area featuring Jackson Place Cohousing and Songaia Cohousing. But at Jackson Place, the layout of the development encourages community interaction. All units… Read More
Ecovillage Helps Ithaca Rank as 2nd Greenest City
Posted on January 24, 2008 byThe city of Ithaca was second on the list of Greenest Cities in part due to the work of the Ecovillage at Ithaca an intentional community with two 30-home cohousing clusters. The Ecovillage was recently featured in Time magazine and is a great example of a community moving towards sustainability. Move.com profiled Ithaca and highlighted… Read More
Artists evicted from Brooklyn ‘Commune’
Posted on January 23, 2008 byWhile not a commune in the traditional sense, the residents of 475 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn, NY describe their home as a kibbutz or commune. Unfortunately they were all evicted a few days ago due to the building being a fire hazard. Evidently the building was not even supposed to have residential spaces. Some claim… Read More
Cohousing Communities in Small Towns Nationwide
Posted on January 21, 2008 byWith over 100 completed cohousing communities in the US, and the idea getting more and more interest and attention, its not surprising that we would see it cropping up in smaller towns across the country. In just the past few days we’ve found the following articles: Activists are working on getting a cohousing community started… Read More
Renewable Energy and Cohousing Reduce Home Energy Costs
Posted on January 19, 2008 by1 Comment
A recent article on RenewableEnergyAccess.com does a great profile on Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, a cohousing community in New Hampshire. The article focuses on the communities Green Buildings (which will receive a LEED Platinum rating) and on their wood pellet boilers which provide heat and hot water for the community. The wood boilers use local,… Read More
Cohousing in the Los Angeles Times
Posted on January 17, 2008 byThe LA Times ran a great article on cohousing just before christmas. It profiles Wolf Creek Lodge and focuses on senior cohousing as an up and coming trend.
