Books on:

Books on Community Living

Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World

Ross Chapin, Taunton Press, 2011, Hardcover, 224 pages
Describes how to create small scale neighborhoods where people can easily know one another, and find friendship or a helping hand nearby. Looks at historic precedents from 19th century Methodist camp communities, to early 20th century Garden City models, and covers contemporary pocket neighborhoods, including New Urban communities, affordable housing, houseboat communities, eco-neighborhoods, and ‘cohousing’, from Danish origins in the 1960s, to examples across America, Australia and New Zealand, including a chapter on senior cohousing.

Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities

Diana Leafe Christian, New Society Publishers, 2003, Paperback
Provides step-by-step practical information distilled from numerous firsthand sources on how to establish an intentional community. It deals with structural, interpersonal and leadership issues, decision-making methods, vision statements, and the development of a legal structure, as well as profiling well-established model communities. Diana Leafe Christian is the editor of Communities magazine and a member of an intentional community in North Carolina.

The Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent Living

Charles Durrett, New Society Publishers, 2nd ed., 2009, Paperback, 320 pages
"Shows how seniors can custom-build their neighborhood to fit their needs. This is housing built by seniors, not for them, and emphasizes independence and social networking." James A. Cox, Midwest Book Review

EcoVillage at Ithaca: Pioneering a Sustainable Culture

Liz Walker, New Society Publishers, 2005, Paperback
The example of EcoVillage at Ithaca will help readers imagine fresh alternatives to “life as usual.” Liz Walker co-founded and has directed EcoVillage at Ithaca since its inception in 1991 and has lived there with her family since the first buildings were completed. She has worked on all aspects of the community’s development and has written and lectured widely on the topic.

Findhorn Book of Community Living

Bill Metcalf, Findhorn Press, 2004, Paperback
A resident of Findhorn, the most famous and successful intentional spiritual community in the world, offers an introduction into community living.

Joyfully Together: The Art of Building a Harmonious Community

Thich Nhat Hanh, Parallax Press, 2003, Paperback
Explores the spiritual, emotional, and practical aspects of developing a community for life. Stresses the importance of communication in all our relationships as the basis for resolving difficulties and maintaining an atmosphere of harmony in "Sanghas," families, and even nations.

The Cohousing Handbook: Building a Place for Community

Chris and Kelly ScottHanson, New Society, rev. ed., 2004, Paperback, 304 pages
As pioneers in the development of cohousing in North America, Chris and Kelly ScottHanson offer a wealth of information and practical hints on how the process works. Covers group processes, land acquisition, finance and budgets, construction, development professionals, design considerations, permits, approvals and membership.

Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities

Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant, New Society, 2011, Paperback, 336 pages
Charles Durrett and his wife Kathryn McCamant are award-winning architects who introduced the concept of cohousing to the US with their book Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. Charles wrote The Senior Cohousing Handbook and, together with Kathryn has designed over fifty cohousing communities in the United States and consulted on many more around the world.

Ecovillages: A Practical Guide to Sustainable Communities

Jan Martin Bang, New Society Publishers, 2005, Paperback, 288 pages
Explores the history of the ecovillages movement and provides a comprehensive manual for planning, establishing, and maintaining a sustainable community using a permaculture approach. Features full-color case studies of successful ecovillages ranging from kibbutz to camphill communities and from as far afield as Australia, Israel, Europe, and the United States. Jan Martin Bang lives in the camphill community of Solborg in Norway.

Finding Community: How to Join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community

Diana Leafe Christian, New Society Publishers, 2007, Paperback, 256 pages
Finding community is as critical as obtaining food and shelter, since the need to belong is what makes us human. The isolation and loneliness of modern life have led many people to search for deeper connection through intentional communities or ecovillages. Finding Community presents an overview of ecovillages and intentional communities and offers solid advice on how to research thoroughly, visit thoughtfully, evaluate intelligently, and join gracefully. Diana Leafe Christian is the author of Creating a Life Together and editor of Communities magazine. She lives at Earthhaven Ecovillage in North Carolina.

Ecovillage Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People

Hildur Jackson, and Karen Svensson, editors, Green Books, 2002, Paperback
A full-color guide to ecovillages, from the people behind them to the tools to make them happen. Includes articles and interviews with ecological builders, water treatment experts, ecovillage designers, mediators, permaculturists, spiritual thinkers, localization activists, and other ecovillage pioneers from around the world. Provides an extensive list of resources and contacts.

Reinventing Community: Stories from the Walkways of Cohousing

David Wann, Fulcrum Publishing, 2005, Paperback, 288 pages
Cohousing began in Scandinavia in the 1960s and spread to the United States in the 1980s. There are now several hundred such communities throughout the country in more than thirty states. Reinventing Community tells real-world stories from the perspectives of the unique people who live in these communities, whether they be in urban, suburban, or rural settings. David Wann is the author of Deep Design and a co-author of Affluenza.

Voices from The Farm: Second Edition

Rupert Fike, Book Publishing Company, 2nd Ed., Paperback
In 1972, at the height of the counter-culture movement, several hundred hippies drove their school buses into southern rural Tennessee and founded America's largest, modern-day intentional community: The Farm. In this book, past and present members of The Farm recount some of their more memorable experiences.

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