A fifteen-minute neighbourhood walk. A five-minute rapid bus ride. A 6-minute bike ride. We’ll be just minutes away from the new Oakridge Community Centre, slated to be finished sometime in 2024. The centre is one of the community amenity contributions provided by the 28.4-acre redevelopment project of the old Oakridge Mall property. The new Oakridge …

Read more Just blocks from our doorstep: the new Oakridge Community Centre

There is no escaping the fact that housing in Vancouver is expensive. It’s all people talk about here in the city (apart from the rain) so despite all the great positives of living in cohousing it should be no surprise to anyone that market-priced cohousing also has a high entry point. As house prices continue …

Read more Is urban cohousing cost effective?

In 2017 Our Urban Village began a partnership with innovative developers, Tomo (formerly known as Take Root) to build a cohousing community using a model that hadn’t been tried before in North America. OUV’s founders were struggling to find a way to build cohousing in one of North America’s priciest housing markets. When the cost …

Read more Tomo and OUV — a bit of history

It is nearly impossible to build urban cohousing below market price. In a previous article we highlighted the reasons why: astronomical land costs, expensive common space, smaller communities, inexperience of cohousers and expensive change orders during the building process. But there are other savings for families thinking about cohousing to consider. Cohousers share a lot …

Read more 6 ways cohousing saves money (in the long run)

My friend Cathy and I ride our bikes along the streets of Vancouver often and find ourselves admiring various houses and have concluded that we suffer from “lot” envy. It’s disheartening to see huge lots with a single family home. We’re constantly comparing those lot sizes to our future development. On Instagram and Facebook, I’ve …

Read more Urban vs rural

We’ve attended many presentations about making cohousing more affordable. People love the idea of knowing their neighbours, breaking bread together and having ongoing relationships. Sadly, the vast majority of cohousing remains unaffordable for folks who can’t pay market rates. Why can’t prices be lower? In urban settings, land costs. And it costs a lot. Our …

Read more Five reasons urban cohousing isn’t more affordable

Residents of Nanaimo’s only intentional community illustrate what living together really means. Do you know your neighbours’ names—first and last? What about their birthdays? Although cities are becoming more dense and technology has made the ability to connect with each other instant, the emotional distance between some people continues to grow. But connection is hardwired …

Read more During a time of social isolation, cohousing builds community

If you’ve ever wondered how one goes about planning, designing and building a cohousing community a recent article posted in the Tyee, may answer some of these questions. Elizabeth Rosenau, a retired pharmacist currently living in Maple Ridge, has joined a group of like minded people who are planning a cohousing project in Langley. The …

Read more My big cohousing adventure in Langley

“Capitalism will not bend over backwards to make sure that you have a life of human connection and meaning. It won’t. […] So I’ve learned that we simply have to create the environments in which we want to live. We must build our own villages.” Have a look at Trish Becker-Hafnor’s Ted talk and find …

Read more Cohousing: The future of community and human connection

Our Urban Village is proud and excited to be a future part of the pioneering research project Happy Neighbours: Promoting affordability and social wellbeing through multi-unit housing design and programming actions. Happy City will assess the impact of the design on residents’ sociability, sense of belonging, social trust, perceived health and level of engagement before …

Read more Happier together