Knowledge

Muir Commons

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As a cohousing development, the upkeep of the community and property relies on continued collaboration between residents. All residents are expected to contribute to the maintenance of the shared areas, as well as help cook a meal once a month for the rest of the community. In addition to this, all
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The process of designing and implementing Muir Commons was strongly influenced by considerations of future residents, with the help and guidance of McCamant & Durrett Architects. Local workshops were conducted within the community to assess needs, which covered the "design, development, group,
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In order to foster a community-oriented living environment, all homes face towards the interior of the property and are congregated around a central walking path. All parking for the neighborhood is located along the periphery of the community as to only allow bicycles and
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A central component of Muir Commons is a community building that contains a kitchen, laundry room, office, gym, guest rooms, and a large room for gathering. In addition to this, there is a garage studio available to all residents that provides tools for automobile and
80:. Due to limited funds and the intention for most of the homes to be considered affordable, the design and development process was heavily focused on communal features as opposed to individual dwellings. The neighborhood was completed in the summer of 1991. 42:
at McCamant & Durrett Architects and is known for being the first new-construction cohousing development in the United States. Opposed to many traditional neighborhoods, Muir Commons was created and maintained around the premise of fostering a
72:, common areas, internal methods of management, and shared community objectives. Although the individual residence dwellings are privately owned, common areas within the neighborhood are owned and maintained equally by all residents. 47:
between its residents by facilitating community-level functionality. While each family or individual lives in a privately owned residence, many other features of the community are shared, including a central communal building, an
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As one of the original cohousing developments in the United States, the inspiration for the layout and framework of Muir Commons came primarily from
335: 105:. Muir Commons also includes a variety of outdoor community spaces, such as a playground, an orchard, gardens, and lawns. 93:
within the living environment. According to McCamant & Durrett Architects, the reason for this is to enable more
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Meltzer, Graham (2000). "Cohousing: Verifying the Importance of Community in the Application of Environmentalism".
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and financial processes". One resident-suggested outcome from this process included the decision to make all units
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of cohousing communities. These models focused on creating an atmosphere for increased
44: 27: 102: 35: 39: 324: 306: 293: 69: 266: 236:"25 years and still going strong: Muir Commons and cohousing in America" 187: 90: 31: 149:"Cohousing Communities: A Sustainable Approach to Housing Development" 235: 23: 52:, gardens, yards, workshops, and even the decision-making process. 174:
Fromm, Dorit (2000). "American Cohousing: The First Five Years".
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decisions that affect the entire community are made by
210:"Muir Commons celebrates two decades of co-housing" 34:. Completed in 1991, Muir Commons was designed by 322: 255:Journal of Architectural and Planning Research 240:The Cohousing Association of the United States 207: 176:Journal of Architectural and Planning Research 331:Buildings and structures in Davis, California 97:and create a safe environment for children. 83: 208:Ternus-Bellamy, Anne (September 28, 2011). 233: 252: 323: 173: 234:Alexander, Alex (January 13, 2016). 229: 227: 225: 223: 203: 201: 199: 197: 169: 167: 165: 146: 142: 140: 138: 136: 134: 132: 130: 128: 126: 336:Residential buildings in California 13: 14: 347: 277: 220: 194: 162: 123: 55: 16:Housing development in California 246: 1: 116: 68:and included aspects such as 7: 147:Belk, Charles (Fall 2006). 10: 352: 84:Community characteristics 95:face-to-face interaction 26:development located in 78:wheelchair accessible 307:38.5558°N 121.7794°W 214:The Davis Enterprise 303: /  312:38.5558; -121.7794 156:UC Davis extension 66:social interaction 45:sense of community 343: 318: 317: 315: 314: 313: 308: 304: 301: 300: 299: 296: 271: 270: 250: 244: 243: 231: 218: 217: 205: 192: 191: 171: 160: 159: 153: 144: 103:home maintenance 36:Kathryn McCamant 351: 350: 346: 345: 344: 342: 341: 340: 321: 320: 311: 309: 305: 302: 297: 294: 292: 290: 289: 280: 275: 274: 251: 247: 232: 221: 206: 195: 172: 163: 151: 145: 124: 119: 86: 62:European models 58: 40:Charles Durrett 17: 12: 11: 5: 349: 339: 338: 333: 287: 286: 279: 278:External links 276: 273: 272: 245: 219: 193: 161: 121: 120: 118: 115: 85: 82: 57: 56:Design history 54: 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 348: 337: 334: 332: 329: 328: 326: 319: 316: 285: 284:Official site 282: 281: 268: 264: 260: 256: 249: 241: 237: 230: 228: 226: 224: 215: 211: 204: 202: 200: 198: 189: 185: 181: 177: 170: 168: 166: 157: 150: 143: 141: 139: 137: 135: 133: 131: 129: 127: 122: 114: 112: 106: 104: 98: 96: 92: 81: 79: 73: 71: 70:private homes 67: 63: 53: 51: 46: 41: 37: 33: 29: 25: 21: 288: 258: 254: 248: 239: 213: 179: 175: 155: 107: 99: 91:foot traffic 87: 74: 59: 20:Muir Commons 19: 18: 310: / 298:121°46′46″W 325:Categories 295:38°33′21″N 117:References 32:California 111:consensus 24:cohousing 267:43030531 188:43030530 50:orchard 265:  186:  263:JSTOR 184:JSTOR 152:(PDF) 28:Davis 22:is a 38:and 327:: 261:. 259:17 257:. 238:. 222:^ 212:. 196:^ 182:. 180:17 178:. 164:^ 154:. 125:^ 113:. 30:, 269:. 242:. 216:. 190:. 158:.

Index

cohousing
Davis
California
Kathryn McCamant
Charles Durrett
sense of community
orchard
European models
social interaction
private homes
wheelchair accessible
foot traffic
face-to-face interaction
home maintenance
consensus









"Cohousing Communities: A Sustainable Approach to Housing Development"



JSTOR
43030530

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