Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Living and Building Community

Below is an article from Johnson County Livable Community's recent newsletter. I can't manage to reproduce the nice graphics here, but at least here's the text. It is by Carolyn Dyer, ICCH board of managers, and edited by Sadja Pals, JCLC.

Prairie Hill Is Iowa's First Cohousing Community

After six years of planning, the first residents have moved into the Prairie Hill Cohousing community, located along Miller Avenue in Iowa City. By summer 2018, 16 homes will be occupied, five homes will be available for new members, and more buildings will be under construction. When complete, the community will include 36 attached, owner-occupied homes with various floor plans, green open spaces, and a Common House for shared activities. While first-of-its-kind in Iowa, Prairie Hill is like most of the 150 cohousing communities in the United States---it is developed by the people who will live there based on values important to them. The original members determined they wanted to live sustainably among people of all ages and of diverse backgrounds, and to share talents, resources and responsibilities for maintaining the community.

Sustainable living for Prairie Hill involves building super-insulated, modest homes that meet the Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. LEED, as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council, "provides a framework that project teams can apply to create healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings." Prairie Hill is also located so residents can minimize use of private cars and still easily meet their daily needs to reach the University of Iowa, downtown Iowa City, businesses, stores and restaurants. The nearly eight-acre community will be managed to conserve most stormwater on the land, and half of the property will feature gardens, an orchard, a prairie and open space.

This first cohousing community in Iowa has attracted members from the Iowa City area, many areas of Iowa, and several families from California.



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