Cohousing in close-in Portland

I’ve casually followed Portland’s cohousing developments for a few years, refraining from getting involved until something cropped up closer to town (Trillium Hollow and Cascadia Commons have been around for years, but are both relatively suburban).

Community doesn’t just happen, especially nowadays; cohousing advocates know this.  We shouldn’t bowl alone, and we shouldn’t live completely detached lives in front of our televisions surrounded by locked doors and chemically treated lawns.  Establishing intentional communities is one way we can increase our social capital.

Portland Architecture recently covered Daybreak Cohousing: Co-Ho In No-Po: The Encouraging Trend of Tenant-Driven Mutlifamily Housing. The article piqued my interest once again into exploring Portland-area cohousing communities. Daybreak is far enough into the planning stage to have architectural designs and a chunk of land in the Overlook area. And they’re going to have an information table at the Division/Clinton Street Fair Saturday, so maybe it’s time I took a closer look.

Here are some local cohousing groups:

• Cascadia Commons
• Daybreak Cohousing
• East Portland Cohousing
• Peninsula Park Commons
• Trillium Hollow