Do Developer-Driven Intentional Neighborhoods Hinder or Help the Community-Building Process?

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The First Question

Despite the fact that hiring a professional and his or her team to develop cohousing or an ecovillage makes good financial sense and appears to heighten the chances of a group's success, this question arises: Does hiring a developer or moving into a developer-driven community hinder the community-building process?

The Infrastructure

There are many important decisions that should be made by the members prior to move-in. Such decisions include when meals are eaten in the common house, how maintenance chores are handled, whether the common house is rented to outside persons, etc. They also include policies for the potential hot spots of alcohol, children, diet, pets, tobacco, and more. 

These are decisions that form the infrastructure of the community.

Creating the infrastructure of the community takes time and energy. The hassles of development often sap that energy and steal that time. Thus, policies and procedures that make the community work are delayed, causing potential friction in the first few months of community living. Friction that is really not necessary.

Thus, having a developer-driven intentional neighborhood actually allows members to devote their time and energy to forming the infrastructure of the community rather than dealing with development problems.

Forming Community

It apparently does not take as long to form community as some think.

Think about this:

Many of the families that move into a new community were not the original founding members who went through the long and arduous pre-construction phase together. Yet community is formed with the new families. 

And this:

Many communities have significant turnover after moving in, yet community is formed quickly and continuously with the new families.

And this:

Many people who want to live in a cohousing community or ecovillage can not or will not undertake years of meetings to make this happen. These people fall through the cracks of time and are lost to the community.

If a long pre-construction phase is not needed to form community, then hiring a developer to shorten the time frame of construction does not hinder the building of community.

The Second Question

Can community be formed when strangers buy a house from a builder or developer one day and move in the next?

That probably will not happen for several reasons, not the least of which is that the owners don't know where to start building an intentional neighborhood.

The Solution

The ideal solution with developer-driven intentional neighborhoods is for the members and the developer to form a "partnership." While the developer is constructing the physical community, the members are bonding and building the neighborhood community with all of its policies and procedures.

The  developer sponsors monthly meetings of future residents with: 

  • Facilitators
  • Speakers
  • "Homework"
  • Socials

The developer also puts a professional marketing plan in place while the members fan out into the community to help implement this plan. 

This partnership can be called the "fast-track" to a  successful intentional neighborhood.

Questions? Please come to our next introductory meeting. In the meantime, call metro 972 251-1532 for answers. 

Next Ecovillage Meetings

General information about meetings here and here

Please call 972 251-1532 or 817 545-0140 for locations.

Please fill out the short survey here for an invitation to speaker/special meetings. Thank you.

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