2025 Axiom Book Awards

SILVER MEDAL WINNER

Everything you need to achieve your dream of living in community, all in one practical book.

Available wherever books are sold online.

This "how to guide" summarizes a proven approach to building cohousing.

By following the experience-based method laid out in the book, group members and their professionals can tackle:

  • Recruiting members and building community

  • Working together efficiently and collaboratively

  • Managing finances and legal agreements through the development phase

  • Finding a feasible site

  • Managing construction

Your group can be effective in the development context where time is money - but collaboration, self-responsibility, and community connection are equally important.

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Who is the audience?

This “how to” guide is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to create community led housing for themselves.

As well, it is for anyone who wants to better understand how to support a community led housing development.

If you are a founding member, municipal official, community planner, mortgage broker, commercial lender, lawyer, architect, development consultant, or conventional developer this book is for you!

What's in the book?

Everything you need to know to successfully build community led housing!

  • Building community membership

  • Organizational structure and group decision-making

  • Establishing feasibility and securing a site

  • How to hire professionals

  • Legal structure and agreements

  • Financial structure

  • How to prepare for living in community

  • Plus 9 detailed appendices

For the complete table of contents, look inside!

What makes it urgent?

Why aren’t more community led housing projects completed in North America?

Despite increasing demand for housing that supports community connection and is affordable, enjoyable, and environmentally sustainable for single people, families, and seniors, few attempts to create this grass roots housing succeed.

A major obstacle is that potential members and professionals lack the necessary knowledge.

Our book guides member groups and professionals step by step to successfully develop a community led housing project.

What makes our book unique?

Although there are many books that tell us why community led housing is good for the world, no other books get into the nuts and bolts of how to make it happen!

What experience do we bring?

Drawing on our experience guiding eleven cohousing projects to completion, our “How To” guide summarizes a proven approach to collaboratively designing and building the compact, environmentally friendly homes with ample common amenities that define cohousing. 

We know that following this path works! And we believe this book will be an excellent resource for everyone trying to develop any type of community led housing project.

For more information about us and the projects we have managed to completion, visit our website: www.cohousingconsulting.ca

Curious if the book is right for you?

Watch this 2-minute video and check out these options!

"Community Led Housing: A Cohousing Development Approach" is now available worldwide!

Purchase the book online from these retailers: