'There is a wide spectrum of #CommunalLiving setups in the Western world, and they have emerged for various reasons – in the UK, the Covid-19 #pandemic contributed to the increase of interest in communal living. The members of one successful communal-living centre in Suffolk said that their set-up was helping to protect them from the #costoflivingcrisis.
"It can be really confusing," says Penny Clark, who is on the board of community-living organisation Diggers and Dreamers, and specialises in "#IntentionalCommunities" – homes where, according to the academic definition, five or more unrelated people live voluntarily together. In
#CoHousing, people have their own self-contained homes as well as dedicated communal spaces, and the community is self-managed, she explains, whereas in #HousingCoOps, the ownership is shared – but the estate doesn't always feel like an intentional community.
There is also the relatively new sector of #CoLiving, for which Clark consults as part of #ConsciousColiving. Here, a company creates a building with self-contained apartments or studios as well as common areas, but these are not intentional communities either. "And then, very rare in the UK these days, are #Communes. According to academic definitions, what makes a commune particularly different to other types of community is that there's a high degree of income sharing. Your earnings go into the pot and you just spend things together."
Then there are places like warehouse or those living in close-knit house shares, with people they consider close friends or even family. They can count as intentional communities, Clark says; they may just be less organised and more organic since they have fewer members.
More people may be turning towards communal living because the
#housingmarket is so pressured, Clark says. Some seek it out because they want to be more environmentally #sustainable. And of course, in today's #atomised society, where family members may be spread far and wide from the town where they were born, #socialconnection is a big draw. In fact, research shows that people who live in intentional communities have a
#qualityoflife as high as the happiest people in society.
Is this way of living for everyone? "There's definitely compromises," says Clark. "The work that goes into #communitylife can be a bit overwhelming – sometimes it turns out very badly, and people leave very upset."
It is also difficult to create a new co-housing community. It's hard to find land, the financial risks are big, and banks are hesitant to lend money. "We're in a system that has certain #assumptions about what a #goodlife is, and a
#goodhome. And communal living doesn't fit into those assumptions", Clark says. "In society we have this mindset that #privacy is good, and that #owning things is good." Sharing your living space, she says, is not aspirational. "The idea of a good home is a big house that you own by yourself."'
This is great 💚