August 21, 2010 5:45 PM. 29 attended.

East Bay Cohousing reception / European Thriving Communities slideshow(Berkeley)

Berkeley Town House Co-op (map)

Selected By: Betsy Morris

East Bay Cohousing is delighted to welcome participants at the EcoVillage/Community Creation workshop, today's bus tour riders, our supporting members and members at large to join us in South Berkeley this evening for a casual celebration of community with time for conversation and networking.

We'll have some social time and then a presentation starting around 7-7:30:

Core Elements of Thriving Communities
Insights and inspiration on building and sustaining community.
A slide show presentation by Tracie Sage (a participant in Diana's workshop).

Learn tried-and-true practices to help us connect, collaborate, cooperate and thrive in community. Sustainable living teacher and relationship coach Tracie Sage shares insights from a lifetime of research and a recent tour of European communities that have stood the test of time. See and hear how seven core elements of thriving communities can help you restore the social roots of village in your life today.

No charge, but donations welcome for food/drinks and to support Tracie's work.



About the site hosting this event
One of Berkeley's largest cooperative housing projects has been quietly lurking in South Berkeley, supporting the concept of Aging In Community for nearly half a century. This stable, usually low-turnover co-op, with 60 apartments limited to occupants 55 and older, now has several units for sale. EBCOHO Supporting Members Jonathan Pool and Susan Colowick are among the current members living there.

BTH is a market-rate (not limited equity) co-op, but we've seen some relatively affordable asking prices (starting under $200k, with monthly charges under $500) on units in this great location with panoramic views, walking distance to both downtown Berkeley and the heart of campus, and lots of physical structure (built elements) that support community - the social side is up to you! We took a tour and participated in a reception July 11, and found some interest in sustainable community there.

As several neighbors will be happy to inform you, it is most definitely not cohousing (and please respect them and their culture by making it clear that you're not there to see cohousing or to take over and remake it), but it seems to us like a place where people interested in doing more together can flourish, forging connections with like-minded others and finding common ground. The units have their own small kitchens, and a large institutional common kitchen and dining area on the ground floor finds use for potlucks and other community gatherings. Self-organizing residents also run on-site concerts, music and art practices, movie screenings, dinners, parties, discussion groups, and an unofficial website. Think of BTH as an opportunity for "instant cooperative housing" -- community you can buy into right away, without years of risky, expensive, time-consuming development and get some of the benefits immediately, with deeper connections emerging over time as you integrate into the culture.

Learn more about openings at our host community, and see photos at the unofficial website maintained by some of the BTH residents.

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29 attended
5.00 5.002 (2 ratings)
  • Event Host
    Betsy Morris
    Cohousing Coach, Organizer
    +2 guests
    Checked-in
  • Event Host
    Jonathan Pool
    Berkeley Town House co-op & supporter 'til 7/7/11
    +8 guests
    Lively conversations at reception, stimulating presentation, and engaged discussion afterwards with the presenter.
  • Event Host
    Raines Cohen
    Cohousing Coach and Aging In Community Author, Co-Organizer
    +5 guests
  • Jenny Guy
    North Oakland Cohousing organizer - supporting group member
    Really great slide show!!
  • brigitte Everett
    Supporting EBCOHO Member through 1/27/2011
  • Jack Sawyer
    Supporting EBCOHO Member through 7/23/2011 & Parker St. Co-Op
    +1 guest
  • Alchemist George
    Supporting Member through 1/26/12 & Oakland Morehouse organizer
  • A former member
  • A former member
Optional supporter dues

$100.00 /yr; $250 for groups/sponsors

This covers: Supporting members get event discounts, Cohousing Coaching, a book, introduction

Payment is accepted using:

  • Amazon Payments
  • Cash or check - “at meetings, tours, workshops and other events that we put on (but not at our partner events that we sometimes cross-post here).

Your organizer will refund you if:

  • Your organizer closes their Meetup Group
  • Your organizer removes or bans you from their Meetup Group

Cohousing Coaches

Our business is Planning for Sustainable Communities.

Prudence Crandall House

Coop house and informal ecovillage with neighbors on 66th Street

Folsom EcoHousing

Cohousing neighborhood of 38 green homes getting ready to build!

Janelle Orsi

Co-author of Sharing Solution guide & other legal resources.

Phoenix Commons

Senior Cohousing @ Park Street Bridge. Aging in Community Study Groups

Eastlake Coho now North Oakland Coho

Monthly Potlucks and Game Nights, orientations, fun!

Golden Gate Cohousing/Parker Street Fdtn

New Cooperative Community in the historic Oak/ville neighborhood

Cohousing California - Resource Network

Web portal to communities, openings, and trainings

Congrats Parker Street Coop

Your supporting membership means a lot to us in EBCOHO.

Yay! Triple Point Cohousing

6 households of adults and kids where Oaktown/Eville/Berkeley meet.

Bay Area Community Land Trust

Membership and advocacy for permanently affordable housing cooperatives.

Jerry Michalski/Sociate

A visionary connector of people and ideas for The Relationship Economy

Member, US Green Building Council

We are a professional member of USGBC; Raines is a LEED Green Associate.

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