Habitat Re•Imagined

Sustainable Community

Intentional Community in Asheville

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communitycandleThe exploration of intentional community in Asheville has many expressions. With the creative and progressive energy that fuels so much of Asheville’s charm, community building is a central theme and has many applications.

Intentional community means different things to different people, and the meaning can evolve over time. Often beginning with our human need for connection and/or an idealistic vision for social change, the experience of living together shapes the evolution.

My personal meaning has simplified and solidified over the many years I’ve been exploring. For me, “intentional community” is defined by those who show up and offer their passion and resources, and then clarify the intention of what they co-create, together.

Intentional community in Asheville is defined in many ways by those building it on the ground. In addition to our own expression at Echo Hills Cottages, the team at Habitat Re-Imagined is committed to supporting the multitude of expressions. With experience and credentials in real estate, construction, development, and the relational aspects of community building, we offer services to existing or forming communities, and can help individuals find the community that best fits their interests and needs.

Our recent collaboration, WNC Community Network, is an effort to network among existing communities, as well as to serve those interested in finding the expression of community that is their best fit. To help us meet your needs and learn where your interests lie, we have developed a brief survey for those living in or interested in intentional community in Asheville. We would appreciate your input and, when we receive your completed survey, you will be given access to our developing WNC Communities List and more information about our network. You can access the survey here

If you’re not a member already, please join our Creating Intentional Community Meetup and/or Facebook group and stay in the loop about intentional community in Asheville – and beyond.

CoHousing in Asheville

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pocket-neighborhoodThe cohousing movement, a form of intentional community which began in Denmark, was brought to the United States in the 1980’s. It has grown significantly over the years, and there is intention for exponential growth in the coming years. Cohousing in Asheville, a city with a variety of intentional community experiments, consists of only one official cohousing projects – Westwood Cohousing in West Asheville.

The original movement involves building community among potential members starting with predevelopment concerns. Potential members gather to envision what their community will look like, to scope out potential land, and to work together to bring the project to fruition.

Although this can be a successful approach to community development, it is fraught with potential problems. Failure is common due to differing values and expectations, the lack of relational skills and tools, and the need for difficult decision making. Last I heard, only about 1 in 7 project attempts get built.

Influenced by the cohousing movement, “pocket neighborhoods” have become an alternative for developer driven projects. These cohousing style of communities are often designed, developed, and built by professionals and then sold to seekers of intentional community. Although this eliminates some of the problems, it creates others. Often, with idealistic vision, new owners spend years in frustration establishing common ground and an effective decision making process.

Along with these two established models, there are many hybrid methods for developing cohousing style projects. Echo Hills Cottages is an attempt to develop a hybrid approach to cohousing in Asheville. Our approach combines the best practices of traditional cohousing and pocket neighborhoods. Our approach includes foundational parameters for design and building, along with the incorporation of skills and tools for co-creating a collaborative culture. At the same time, we are focused on establishing a cohesive core group of people that work together for the common good, intent on cultivating the culture of the neighborhood we want to live in.

For more information, check out the websites for Pocket Neighborhoods and the Cohousing Association. Also, feel free to contact me about cohousing in Asheville or specifically about the hybrid model of Echo Hills Cottages.

The Collaborative Culture at Echo Hills Cottages

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I recently put together a document related to the culture we intend to nurture in the intentional neighborhood of Echo Hills Cottages. I thought I would share it here and would love to hear your response.

Introduction:

Echo Hills Cottages is an “intentional” pocket neighborhood of small green built homes. We support trusting and respectful relationships, along with open communication, for meaningful interpersonal connection and a collaborative governance.

Rather than an ideal definition of community, we believe that true community is the collaborative result of our collective intention. We encourage the following key principles as a foundation to establish that intention and to nurture a culture of collaboration. For more information about these principles and the tools for facilitation, please see A CoCreative Path

Intention:

Clear personal intention is a prerequisite for effective collaboration and is established through mindful awareness. This requires the attitude of an observer to explore beliefs, emotions, assumptions, perceptions, needs, motivation, etc. It also requires the willingness to engage with others without judgment, as well as an awareness of the control issues and dysfunctional patterns we tend to gravitate toward in conflict.

Connection:

Relational connection is the result of conscious and compassionate communication as we listen for understanding, express empathy, and create intimacy. It first requires listening as an observer to move beyond judgment based on personal experience and beliefs. It also requires authenticity and compassion in our speech.

Alignment:

Interpersonal alignment is explored in self disclosure as we share vision, values, and expectations. It is established in transparency and clear agreements. It protects us from assumption and is part of the foundation for effective collaboration to be built upon.

Innovation:

Innovation is the result of collaborative synergy, and is established through participatory decision making. It is built on the foundation of agreement and in the context of interpersonal awareness and conscious communication.

Participatory decision making embraces conflict as a creative opportunity to address the competing perspectives, values, needs, and desires of everyone. It is a dynamic process rooted in the values of equivalence and transparency.

Again, you can find out more about these principle and tools for facilitation at A CoCreative Path.

Asheville Pocket Neighborhood

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Cottage Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Asheville pocket neighborhood has been greatly influenced by the Cottage Company in Seattle, Washington and their architect, Ross Chapin. Using quality small house design and hard won zoning changes for greater building density, they have been shakers and movers that are influencing critical changes in urban sprawl throughout the country.

Primary features of their pocket neighborhoods include small house footprints, creative design, quality green built features, and renewed neighbor relations. Take a look at The Cottage Company website for examples of their developments, and also take a look at Ross’ website on Pocket Neighborhoods.

If you are in the area, feel free to contact me to visit Echo Hills Cottages, our West Asheville pocket neighborhood.

Echo Hills Cottages

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We are excited!

Baker_photo1After a long wait, it has now been several weeks since we finalized the closing of 2 pieces of property in west Asheville. It is a beautiful 3 1/4 acre site, with an existing house, that we plan to develop into a small “intentional neighborhood” with 9 more house. We have started with preliminary design parameters for small green built homes, and are enthusiastically moving forward on many fronts.

b2.1The plan includes a cluster of 5 homes on the wooded section, leaving almost an acre of rolling wooded land in it’s natural state for a shared park-like area. Another 4 smaller homes will be clustered on a sunny hill, facing an open area that is perfect for a community garden. The existing house will serve as shared space for a variety of community oriented needs and interests.

We will be developing a cooperative oriented legal structure that provides personal ownership of an individual home and building site, along with common ownership of the rest. We plan to incorporate the tools we use for communication and decision making into our home owner agreements to nurture a culture of empathy and collaboration. See our other website, A CoCreative Path, for more information.

We hope to have our conceptual plans ready in May and to break ground on the first house this summer. The plans will provide parameters for creative and environmentally responsible design, with complete flexibility for personal needs and expression. I will be posting plan updates as they are completed.

If you would like to explore joining us on this journey (or know someone who would), contact us soon – there are only 9 building sites left 🙂  Stay tuned for project development – sign up at the right to be first to receive updates and for our occasional newsletter.

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