by Christiane Droste, Co-operative Housing conference, Cardiff, July 2015

1. CoHousing
Good practice of community-driven and self-
organised housing across Europe
Dr. Christiane Droste Cardiff, CCH/WCC conference, 25 July 2015
Competition Urban Living, Berlin 2014© SenStadtUm Berlin / Baupiloten BDA, Berlin

2. CoHousing:
What are we talking about?
What is its contribution to coping with social and demographic change?
What is its contribution to the equality of women and men in everyday life?
2
© id22 2012, CoHousing Cultures

3. How to define CoHousing?
Suggestion for a definition: “CoHousing includes
intentional, inclusive communities with varying
degrees of resident participation in planning and
managing the apartments or homes, common
spaces and infrastructures, gardens etc. It is a
non-speculative form of collaborative ownership”.
 great variety of organisational frameworks ,
 great variety of property / conditions of tenancy,
 within Europe often institutional differences within the
seemingly same structure (eg. cooperatives)

4. Aspects linking the different forms of CoHousing
 participation, elements of parlamentary /
representative collective organisation
 convivial elements,
 communal elements,
 joint representation in the
neighbourhood or the political realm,
and ...
CoHousing Cultures Manifest: #3
More support for inititatives that promote social inclusion and
gender equality, notably for low income groups und immigrants in
community driven housing projects
Images and manifesto © Stattbau Berlin (Workspace) / Dr. Michael LaFond, 2013, Presentation “Stadt der Zukunft – Stadt der Vielfalt”

5. The Swedish example
 Great diversity of models and architecture.
 A large number of mainly middle class
projects.
 Proven demand by a much wider societal
range.
 From traditional milieus to dedicated
innovators.
 Just better housing than what the market
provides.
 Housing and social change – the housing
and urban political projects.
 The solution to cope with demographic
change?
5
(2,000 homes, 0.4 % of stock in Sweden)
Diagramme © Dirk Urban Vestbrö, 2014

6. Stockholm
Fjärdknappen (1987-1993)
CoPlanning/-housing for
the second half of life
6
 Rented out by a public housing
company, self-managed by the tenants
association.
 43 flats
 50% of tenants aged 70+, 78% women.
 How to help each other cross-
generational to achieve a better life
and reduce dependency of social
services?
 Can family and workplace relationships
in old age be replaced with CoHousing?
 Flexibility of flats when ‘nests get
empty’?
The ground floor of Färdknäppen includes a large entrance area (1), a common
kitchen (2), dining room (3), living room with library, internet PC and sewing corner
(4), weaving room (5), laundry room (6) and a hobby/carpentry room (7).
All illustrations © website Fjärdknäppen

7. Brussels
L‘Espoir (2004-2010)
Immigrant
emancipation
7
 Established within local
“neighbourhood contracts
programme”
 With and for migrant population
 Giving incentives for integration
 Explore individual and collective
 Public social housing and job-
creation subsidies linked into an
integrated project
 Providing homes for families, enhan-
cing the women’s conditions of life
 A success in experimental housing
 Roots of the Brussels CLT project
All images © DePauw 2013

8. Milan
Ostello Olinda
Housing + hostel for
people with social and
mental disabilities
 Property of the city,
conversion of an old
psychatric clinic.
 250 units for 25 building
groups.
 Managed by social
cooperative La Fabrica
Olinda.
 Mentally ill people find an
enabling environment, a
home and a job.
 Guests are welcome
and welcome the
partnership. 8Source: http://www.graficisenzafrontiere.net/portfolio-items/ostello-olinda/
Source: Id22/ CoHousing Cultures

9. Vienna
[ro*sa] Donaustadt
association + private
builder / women‘s project
(2009)
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 Decisions made by the
women’s association (men
excluded from decision
making + property)
 Men and children
welcome to live here
 Cross generational
concept
 CoHousing / gender
planning incorporated in
Vienna urban housing
policy
 Increasing demand: one of
three [ro*sa] women’s
housing projects Sources: id22; http://www.frauenwohnprojekt.org/wohnungstypen-und-gemeinschaftseinrichtungen

10. Munich
Women‘s Housing
Cooperative
Mixed financing model
10
 ‘Women Housing’ association
founded in 1998
 2005 project Messestadt Riem
 Financing concept and planning
based on three income levels and
public funding offers
 Cross generational concept
 Shared space + sharing society
 Own field on municipal cemetery
 Increasing demand: two follow-up
projects
Illustrations © FrauenWohnen; source housing design: http://www.2010.bda-preis-bayern.de/2010/img/71.pdf

11. Do gender sensitive urban governance structures
advocate gender diversity in housing?
A Berlin PPP gender mainstreaming pilot project
Berlin
1892 Housing cooperative
pilot project participation,
gender equality and diversity
© UrbanPlus 2012

12. German, Austrian and Switzerland good practice on migrant integration
knowledege transfer to the pilot projcets working on this field + other projects
I Conceptualisation , selection of partners + Kick-Off WS February –June 2008
III procject integrating workshop
IV PUBLIC CONFERENCE
Cooperative housing as a self-determined form of housing and living:
innovation through gender sensitive practice and reflection of international good practice
Project I
Re-designing a courtyard
Project III gender
sensitive marketing + building
Project II
Intercultural communication
Project IV adaptation of stock
to needs of ageing population
IIPROJECTPHASE
JULI2008-DECEMBER2009
• establishing a steering committee
• building professional gender
knowledge
• analysis of space and target groups
• work in field of action
steering model of the project
© UrbanPlus 2012

13. Kick-off-workshop
negotiation + setting of objectives
On site visit
target group analysis „inahbitants“
workshop II – intercultural communication
Preparing the local action
„neighbourhood action day"
creating a hamam and/or laundry café
evaluation of the process 2010 + 2011
field of action intercultural communication
gender
Berlin
1892 Housing cooperative
pilot project participation,
gender equality and diversity

14. target groups: senior native german members , families with different
immigration background, kids and youngsters
Bildquellen 1892 eG:
gender+ / 1892 eG/Boek
from laundry to hamam?
Laundry café ?
field of action intercultural communicationBerlin
1892 Housing cooperative
All images © 1892 eG, 2012

15. Mainstreaming CoHousing:
what can/should the state /
municipalities do?
 Provide framework rules
 Develop adequate
governance models
 Provide equal
opportunities for
CoHousing projects in
housing policies
 Provide conditional land
at fixed price and
financial support
 Support independent
networking and
information
15

16. Land
 Not only buying, but also lease, and other models
 Rent-buy models for associations
 Community land trusts
Money
 Mix finance models
 Crowd funding and other
Participation
 Concept, planning and social engagement
 from muscle mortgage to financial participation
16
Instruments to
Promote CoHousing

17. Learning from across the board
 Local, national and international
knowlegde exchange
 Lobbying and mutual support in
networks
 Local support structures (agencies,
umbrella organisations)
 Financing models
Instruments to
Promote CoHousing

18.  Id22 (2012) CoHousing Cultures. Berlin: Jovis-Verlag
 Id22/Trias Foundation (2011) experiment city europe . Hattingen: Stiftung
Trias.
 Tummers, L. (ed.) (2015) Taking apart co-housing: towards a long-term
perspective of self-managed collaborative housing initiatives. London:
Routledge.
 Droste, C. / Hucke, J. / Krönert, S. (2012) rAdvocating diversity in housing
cooperatives – Quality assurance through Gender Mainstreaming
http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/soziale_stadt/gender_mainstreaming/de/projekte/geno
ssenschaftliches_wohnen.shtml
If you want to read more ...
If you want to get in contact ...
 Droste@urban-plus.eu