This was the question asked on the cover of the latest May issue of North & South magazine. Their lead article provided a history of cohousing attempts in NZ and is very informative for those interested in TRM’s (Tongariro River Mews) proposal. The ten-page feature starts as follows:

COME TOGETHER (By Eric Trump)

Is communal living a wiser use of resources and a counter to societal ills like loneliness? With the cost of newly built and older homes rocketing and a lack of supply, proponents of shares or cohousing say it’s time to reconsider once-radical options.

Cohousing is the latest iteration of “intentional living” in New Zealand. At its heart, cohousing brings together private dwellings around a shared space and facilities, refining what a neighbourhood looks like. The pleasures of privacy are braided with community – one that is planned, owned and managed by the residents themselves, usually without a property developer…

Mark Southcombe, an associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Architecture and an expert in the history and design of cohousing, says cohousing is an arrangement whose time has come. He believes that one day, it could compose 5 to 10 percent of New Zealand’s housing sector…

All aspects of the history and difficulties and advantages of cohousing and other options are discussed with various successful and failed precedents in NZ.

It will be of particular interest to all those who have displayed interest in TRM’s cohousing proposal.