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There is the occasional orphan task, and the problem of not contributing is also occasional. "I think all cohousing communities struggle with that," one owner says. "We

don't have enforcement mechanisms." One way to avoid the problem is to educate potential residents. To that end, the resale/rental pod, the subgroup in charge of finding suitable

new residents, stresses the importance of community work. Another helpful point, several owners say, is realizing that perception may not be reality. "Some people participate in

different ways, some in ways you don't always see," notes one. Because some work is done individually or not during prime time, people may not realize it's being done or that

a certain neighbor has been putting in the time. Above: The floor plan for a two-bedroom condo apartment. Takoma Village Cohousing has flats with one or two bedrooms and two-story townhomes

with two to four bedrooms. Image courtesy Takoma Village Cohousing 11. HOW IS TAKOMA PARK COHOUSING AN ECOFRIENDLY COMMUNITY? In addition to a solar array and geothermal heating/cooling, all

lumber and flooring for the building were chosen for sustainability and the walls were built with extra insulation. Light pipes (similar to skylights) brighten the upper floors. Pesticide

use is minimal and food waste is composted. Communal ownership of everything from treadmills to outdoor grills means less consumption. Many residents get by with one car or no car at all

because of the nearby bus and train system, taxis, bikeshare station and carshare options. Recycling bins are everywhere, including for unwanted mail. One owner collects batteries for

recycling. 12. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF LIVING IN COHOUSING? The most common answer: "mutual support," which residents define in many different ways. Some take part in optional

shared meals, which reduce the burden on working parents. In a similar vein, parents appreciate the sense of having a village to raise a child. "We like the age range, the generations

that are here," says Anna Stockdale, whose family is renting. Stockdale has a six-year-old daughter who walks herself to visit a friend. "I feel safe with that," she adds. The

child also enjoys being able to hang out in the common house playroom. Residents with illnesses, injuries or disabilities find that neighbors are quick to help with meals, rides to medical

care and more. On a larger level, there's always someone to socialize with. "This place celebrates everything," residents say, with parties for birthdays, holidays and the

Super Bowl. There are movie nights and Presidential inaugural viewing parties. "Sometimes gatherings just materialize," one owner notes. "Someone will bring their dinner down

to sit in the piazza, and the next thing you know there's a whole bunch of people chatting and having a good time." 13.  WHAT ARE SOME DISADVANTAGES? "Someone [who] has

problems with meetings, who can be impatient with process" might have a hard time in cohousing, says resident Mark Headings. People who want to go their own way and not use consensus to

resolve issues would likely butt heads with neighbors who do. "It's sometimes more work to live here than to have your own small place elsewhere," says one. A few residents

grumble, a little, about footing the bill for perks or services they don't use, from childcare to the hot tub. Some cohousing communities handle this by charging user fees. Takoma

Village Cohousing does not. As one resident points out, "Somebody's always supporting _something_ that they don't use." Another potential downside is the extra need for

good communication. The need for consensus, the need to communicate expectations of community, the need to clarify whether people are working — all these require more effort than in a

typical condominium or homeowners' association. Owner Peter Kent folds towels in the shared laundry room. Not having to buy and maintain one's own washer/dryer saves money and

opens up space for other uses. Photo by Ellen Ryan 14.  HOW DOES THE COMMUNITY HANDLE CONFLICTS? Some cohousing communities have a formal dispute resolution group. Takoma Village Cohousing

does not. Owners did conduct nonviolent communication workshops early on, which several mentioned finding valuable. The advice for problems among neighbors is low-key communication — in

person or over the Listserve for something systemic. An example of low-key communication, per Headings: "I really know it's so inviting to bounce a ball in the piazza, but please

don't do that because of the way the sound reverberates." The group paraphrased another owner's words to live by: "Please don't either give offense or take offense

easily." 15. HOW MUCH PRIVACY DO RESIDENTS HAVE? "Cohousing neighborhoods are designed for privacy as well as community. Residents balance privacy and community by choosing their

own level of engagement," states the Coho/US website. "I thought it would be a bit of a fishbowl, like we'd all be in each other's business," a woman at Takoma

Village Cohousing shares. But living in fairly close quarters — as in any form of multifamily housing — with the added interaction with neighbors hasn't meant complete transparency.

Several owners nod when one offers, "I do think there is a sort of visual privacy. We see stuff going on, but we don't intervene." 16. WHAT ATTRACTS POTENTIAL BUYERS TO TAKOMA

VILLAGE COHOUSING? "Cohousing is really hot for a certain niche of the population," says one woman, to general agreement. "Most of the people who move here do so because they

like the idea of a community, of knowing their neighbors, interacting with neighbors, the social aspect." The Metrorail station two blocks away is a major draw. Other selling points,

says Headings, include a neighborhood swimming pool, a library, a popular farmers' market, a food co-op and the walkability of the neighborhood around them. A young girl plays in Takoma

Village Cohousing's shared piazza. Photo by Ellen Ryan 17. IS THERE AN APPROVAL PROCESS FOR NEW OWNERS, LIKE IN A CO-OP? There's no approval process for buying an apartment in

Takoma Village Cohousing, but there is an education process. Because cohousing is about community, fellow owners want to make sure new neighbors truly buy in to the concept. Takoma Village

Cohousing's resale/rental pod tries to take the place of a real estate agent by finding a pool of informed buyers or renters. As one member put it, "You want to sell your place,

right? We want to make sure the next person coming in is a good fit. So let's work together." Newcomers are invited to a tour and a meal and urged to read about cohousing and

Takoma Village Cohousing specifically and speak with current owners. Says one owner: "We want them to educate themselves so they really know what they're getting into. We're

more organized about that than we used to be." 18. DO TAKOMA VILLAGE COHOUSING RESIDENTS ENCOUNTER STEREOTYPES OR MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT COHOUSING? There are grins all around at this

question and the stereotypes come quickly: _Commune, Tree huggers, Hippie housing_. Even what _New York Times_ columnist David Brooks called Bobos, or "bourgeois Bohemians."

Although Takoma Village Cohousing residents tend to be well read, socially and politically aware, highly opinionated — and, safe to say, largely left leaning — they scorn the "hippie

housing" label. "We're upper middle class," says Headings, pointing out that Takoma Village Cohousing owners can afford to purchase housing in an expensive city on the

edge of a leafy suburb. 19. WERE, OR ARE, THERE ZONING OR OTHER SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS TO CREATE COHOUSING COMPLEXES LIKE TAKOMA VILLAGE COHOUSING? According to the Cohousing Association of

the United States, all but two or three American cohousing communities among its membership are condos, townhouse complexes or a mix like Takoma Village Cohousing. So generally, the

requirements are simply those of any multifamily housing. A main concern early on, residents Ann Zabaldo and Mark Headings note, was making sure Takoma Village Cohousing's common house

kitchen was not ruled to be commercial because then, they explain, "we would have needed commercial licenses, commercial hoods … we would have been a restaurant!" Zabaldo says the

developer asked the fire marshal's office to think of the common house kitchen as it would a church kitchen: It prepares meals, has potlucks and communal dinners and special events, but

does not sell anything. "This is where we really need a cohousing zoning code," explains Zabaldo. "We're like 98 percent or 99 percent just straight condo, but that one

percent can make a difference." 20. WHAT MIGHT LOCAL LEADERS — ELECTED OFFICIALS, POLICY MAKERS, HOUSING PLANNERS, EVEN DEVELOPERS — DO TO MAKE COHOUSING AN EASIER OR MORE AVAILABLE

OPTION FOR OLDER ADULTS OR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES? "Reduce the conflicts in zoning and condominium laws for cohousing," says Zabaldo. "Better still, draft legislation specifically

for cohousing." Second, "provide development tax credits for developers of senior cohousing communities [and] provide city-owned development sites or tax credits for individuals

purchasing a home in a senior cohousing community." LEARN MORE _Ellen Ryan is a Maryland-based freelance writer and editor. She has written for AARP the Magazine and for The

Washingtonian, where she served as the monthly magazine's managing editor._ _Published January 2016_ More from AARP.org/Livable  Use the dropdown to choose a livability topic. Select a

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