Visions of Utopia

('86, CA) 17 Households

A retrofit cohousing community, where 13 adjacent households tore down back yard fences to make common gardens & play areas. N Street is unusual because it has arisen by gradual evolution in the midst of existing suburban development in Davis, California. Their process was to add one house at a time, as they became available, and to merge all the back yards, integrating all the amenities and landscaping. The ownership structure is very diverse--some houses are owned by community residents, some by absentee landlords, and one by a collective of community residents. Although the residents share much of the joy and pain of their everyday lives, each household has their own home, and can be private when that is needed. They have a common house which includes a large well-equipped kitchen, a community dining room (3-4 shared community meals per week), and a small meeting/TV/piano room. Other community facilities are distributed among many houses and include: laundry rooms, workshop, sauna, hot-tub, tools, play structures, and a communally managed chicken yard. Decisions are made by consensus in monthly meetings of all residents who wish to attend, and through committee meetings. Residents are a mixture of renters and homeowners; both groups have equal say in community decisions.

Contact Info:
N Street Cohousing
724 "N" Street
Davis, CA 95616

email: User="kjwolf" [at] Domain="dcn.davis.ca.us"

http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/nstreet/homepage.php
http://www.cohousing.org/ (The Cohousing Network)