Category: Zoom

Feb. 22 – Children in Cohousing

What makes childhood and parenthood easier and more fun? How about other kids and parents? That’s one idea behind this free online event.

Saturday
February 22
9:30-11:00 AM

Registration is required for you to receive a Zoom meeting link.
Limit: 100 participants.

Register
Image shows a boy playing with a train set on the floor with toys including many multi-colored balls. There are other children and and adult in the background engaged in other activities, similar to what might be found in a cohousing community.
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Cohousing has been described as a return to village living. It is community designed for connection, with private homes surrounded by shared spaces. Cohousing communities are usually initiated, financed and managed by the residents themselves. Cohousers typically share periodic meals in a “common house.” While some cohousing communities are senior focused, most are multi-generational. What would be advantageous for kids and parents in such an environment? What would be challenging? What might senior members have to gain or lose?

With the help of some video clips, TCCN will be your guide for your questions and conversation on this topic. Also, a couple local groups that aspire to become cohousing communities or cooperatives will provide updates on their status and activities. The basics of what is cohousing will be provided.

A group of middlel-school aged children in a tight group smiling and taking a selfie together.
Photo by Norma Mortenson
A group of preschool-age children lying on the floor with their heads toward the center showing smiling faces.
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

Feb. 21 Listening Session

Twin Cities Cohousing Network has big ideas for 2024. Please join us Wednesday, Feb. 21 on Zoom event for a special listening session. We want to hear to your feedback about ideas we are considering for 2024 and your suggestions for how to get cohousing communities built!

Twin Cities Cohousing Network has big ideas for 2024.

Wednesday, February 21
7:00 to 8:30 PM

Register
Ethnic man wearing a yellow shirt is holding a paper cup to his ear. The cup has a string attached to the bottom of the cup. The string is taut and the man is listening very hard.

Registration is required to receive your Zoom link

The volunteers who organize and run Twin Cities Cohousing Network are seeking your input on how TCCN can best assist groups aspiring to build new cohousing communities. Here are two new ideas we are considering:

The first is expanding our scope from the Twin Cities to all of Minnesota. Get a peek at our proposed new name and let us know if you think this change is a good idea and how we should start connecting with others across the state.

Second, would small in-person discussion circles with friends, and friends of friends, be more likely to build energy for cohousing than large Zoom events? Learn about a proposed program that could take place among small groups of people located anywhere in Minnesota. Provide your feedback to help it succeed.

There will be small group discussions, and your questions and will be addressed. And please bring your ideas for future topics!”

Woman of color in a room with many books is listening to headphones while looking at computer screen.

Top 10 Reasons to Live in Cohousing

Why do people want to live in cohousing? Karen Gimnig has experienced cohousing as a resident and is professional facilitator who support groups forming and living in cohousing . She is also an author, making her October 11th presentation one you won’t want to miss.

Meet the Professionals:
Karen Gimnig

Karen Gimnig is a relationship coach with a particular focus on group process and community.  She has lived in cohousing communities in Georgia and Oregon. In her role as a professional facilitator, she offers classes and workshops to support cohousing groups across the country as they build and learn to live together in cohousing. Karen worked for several years for the Cohousing Association of the US. In addition, she co-authored The Cooperative Culture Handbook with Yana Ludwig, making many of the concepts and skills she teaches in her classes and workshops available in book form. Karen currently lives in Anacortes WA with her husband Jamie. They enjoy hiking and sailing through all the beauty of the Puget Sound.

Meet the Professionals:
Karen Gimnig

Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023
7:00 to 8:30 PM on Zoom

Register

Registration is required to receive a Zoom link. Limit: 100 participants.

Head shot of featured event speaker Karen Gimnig, a middle aged woman with short dark hair and glasses wearing a black shirt standing in front of dark green leafy bushes.
Karen Gimnig
(Photo used by permission)

Learn more about Karen Gimnig.

The Need for Permanent Affordability: Community Land Trusts & Cohousing

Greg Rosenberg’s experience creating cohousing communities and his extensive knowledge of community land trusts (CLTs) offers an exciting approach to creating cohousing communities with permanently affordable housing units.

Meet the Professionals: Greg Rosenberg

Rosenberg discussed some of the economic justice challenges that come with building desirable places to live, and some of the methods to develop mixed-income cohousing. Cohousing, when not price-controlled, can easily become expensive to the point of being exclusionary. This session will highlight the need for price restrictions using resale formulas (eg. through a community land trust (CLT)) to ensure ongoing affordability, and discuss the steps to subsidize home prices and keep them affordable. Two contrasting examples of mixed-income cohousing in Madison will be featured: Troy Gardens (a project of Madison Area CLT) and Linden Cohousing.


Meet the Professionals: Greg Rosenberg

“The Need for Permanent Affordability: Community Land Trusts and Cohousing”

View on YouTube

Recorded on May 10, 2023 via Zoom.

Greg Rosenberg
(photo used by permission)

Learn more about Greg at Rosenberg and Associates.

TCCN’s publicity partner for this event is:

Logo with stylized blue "M" and the words, "Minnesota Community Land Trust Coalition. A permanent solution for affordable housing."

For more information on Minnesota’s 13 Community Land Trust organizations go to mncltc.org.

What’s up with cohousing in Minnesota?

The Feb. 8 event features updates from groups working to create cohousing communities in Minnesota. Small breakout groups after the updates will allow viewers time to ask questions and engage with each other and our presenters.

Twin Cities Cohousing Network’s next virtual event features updates from groups working to create cohousing communities in Minnesota. Smaller breakout groups after brief group updates will allow views time to ask questions and engage with each other and our presenters. Topics that we have invited our speakers to address include: the ups and downs of forming a core group, working to agree on a common vision, the challenges of finding a suitable site, working with cohousing professionals and addressing challenges of affordability.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023
7:00-8:30 PM via Zoom.
Register in advance to receive your zoom link.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Minnesota outline provided by Suncatcherstudio.com

Ann Zabaldo event

Don’t miss hearing from national cohousing professional and enthusiast Ann Zabaldo at TCCN’s next Meet the Professionals event on Zoom. Zabaldo’s tireless efforts and successes are sure to inspire those of us envisioning more Minnesota cohousing communities!

Meet the Professionals

Hear from national cohousing professional and enthusiast Ann Zabaldo at TCCN’s Meet the Professionals event. Zabaldo’s tireless efforts and successes are sure to inspire those of us envisioning more Minnesota cohousing communities!

“Everyone living next to someone who cares about them” — My role in creating cohousing, working with a developer, and helping cohousing in the mid-Atlantic states

View this presentation on TCCN’s YouTube Channel

Ann Zabaldo
Wed. Oct. 12, 2022
7:00 – 8:30 PM Central

Image of Ann Zabaldo wearing green glasses and smiling brightly.
Ann Zabaldo, Washington DC

Ann Zabaldo is both a pioneer volunteer and a paid professional in the cohousing movement. She specializes in outreach, education, marketing, and fueling the fires of burning souls working to start cohousing.

Ann is past-president of The Cohousing Association of the United States (CohoUS) and is a co-founder and current board member of Mid Atlantic Cohousing, a regional non-profit organization. She is a certified facilitator for McCamant & Durrett’s Senior Cohousing Study Group workshops. She is co-executive producer of “Building Sustainable Communities for Today’s Housing Market” a DVD and companion handbook created specifically for developers who are interested in entering the cohousing market niche.

Ann was on the development team for both Eastern Village Cohousing in Silver Spring, Maryland and Takoma Village Cohousing in Washington, DC where she lives with 65 adults, 15 children, seven dogs and waaaay too many cats. Currently, for Takoma Village she is serving on the Bylaws Working Group to revise the bylaws and the Resale and Rental pod (team or committee). This pod has brought in excellent buyers who are prepared to live in cohousing. Plus, more than $120,000 in donations to the community. Her description of living in cohousing? “It’s a rolling Mardi Gras.”

Twin Cities Cohousing Network is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Please consider making a donation in any amount to help us continue our Meet the Professional speaker series. Donate securely via PayPal or Donate via GiveMN. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent of the law.

Explore the appeal of cohousing by participating in a story circle.

Register for one or more of the three FREE story circle sessions and engage with others interested in cohousing. Story Circle sessions are offered via Zoom on Thursdays, Mar 24, 31, and Apr 7, 2022 from 7:00-8:30 PM CDT

Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash

A story circle is a time-honored tradition of telling stories without interruption until everyone in the circle who wishes to speak has spoken. The uniqueness of our own story settled next to other stories provides insight into similarities and differences in our backgrounds and experiences and opens us to deeper understanding. Discussion and questions follow as time permits.

Register for one or more of the three FREE story circle sessions and engage with others interested in cohousing as we share our stories and discuss cohousing.

Story Circle sessions are offered via Zoom
Thur — Mar 24, Mar 31, Apr 7, 2022 — 7:00-8:30 PM CDT

Please read Steps to Get Ready for the story circle/s that you are interested in attending. Our story circle guidelines are also listed on the Steps to Get Ready page on the course site.

Register on the course site to attend 1, 2, or all 3 (limit of 20 registrations per session)

Each session’s unique story circle prompt is selected to help us understand an aspect of the appeal of living in a cohousing community — as well awareness of the challenges and opportunities that may arise. Cohousing resources on this site complement our learning for those who want to deepen their understanding of cohousing and how it differs from kinds of housing and living arrangements.

These sessions are FREE to help the instructor test the format. Free-will donations to Twin Cities Cohousing Network are greatly appreciated. The course facilitator volunteers her time and is not selling a product or representing any product for sale. The materials in this course are publicly available and have been curated to encourage participants to explore them. Each session is limited to a maximum of 20 participants.

Is affordable cohousing possible?

Affordable Cohousing: Challenges and Opportunities
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
7:00 to 8:30 PM

View event recording

Followup Resources (PDF)

We know there is a huge need for affordable housing in the Twin Cities. And many of us are interested in affordable cohousing units. What strategies should cohousing groups implement to bring down costs?

A national cohousing conference last October centered on this pivotal concern about affordability, drawing on examples from communities recently built. In February, three local cohousing advocates who attended that conference will report on some of the highlights, and then attendees will have a chance to join the discussion.

If housing affordability is important to you, and cohousing is appealing as a way to live, please join us as we attempt to co-create and spread approaches that can work here.

Lynn Englund
Kathy Ahlers
Image of Becca Brackett
Becca Brackett


A summer photo of a third floor balcony with clusters of chairs and potted plants thatt overlooks a common garden area of a cohousing community in Denmark.
BO cohousing. Photo by Fred Olson

Join the Nat’l Conf. Ad Hoc Planning Circle

Madison to host the 2022 National Cohousing Conference

 TCCN’s ad hoc planning circle seeks people interested in maximizing cohousing networking and fun for Minnesotans who attend the National Cohousing Conference in Madison, WI, August 25-28, 2022.

The group will help Catalyze Cohousing in Minnesota by encouraging Minnesotans to register for the conference and making it fun and accessible for Minnesotans to participate in a variety of ways.

What inspires you to participate?

  • Getting the word out about the conference?
  • Organizing a hospitality suite in Madison?
  • Organizing car-pools and busses to transport people to Madison?
  • Researching Madison restaurants for dinner gatherings for Minnesotans?
  • Visiting a few of Madison’s four cohousing communities?
  • Gatherings for remote conference viewing via Zoom?
  • Gatherings to review recorded sessions after the conference?
  • Camping in local parks rather than staying in a hotel?

Ready to get involved? Email Becca Brackett of Cedar Cohousing, LLC to let her know of your interest.

Becca visiting PDX Cohousing during the 2019 National Conference.
Cohousing US logo
Check Cohousing US for national conference updates.
August fields of hay. Photo by Nikolett Emmert from Pexel