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Olamina Commons - Urban Microvillage & Community
Mission of the project
Mission of the project
We are co-creating the Village at Wexford and Olamina Commons, an urban eco-village where abundance, decision-making and responsibilities are shared.
This project embraces the power of collaboration, equitable living and community practices grounded in a new way of listening with care to one another.
We are inspired by...
The stories and links below are inspirational models we can learn from as we move forward.
How to turn your neighborhood into a village
How to turn your neighborhood into a village
Mark Lakeman initiated a movement in Portland to transform the homogenous neighborhoods of the city into places that have many of the qualities and characteristics that are found in some of the most treasured villages on Earth. Mark reveals the things you need to know to transform your own neighborhood into a village.
Radish CoHousing
Radish CoHousing
"Radish is built around the “Obvious Truth” — that people are happiest and healthiest surrounded by people they love and admire," they explain on their website. Phil Levin and Kristen Berman wanted to live near their friends, but they didn’t want to sacrifice their privacy, so they started their own intentional community where you can choose your neighbors and eat together but still have your own home. They called it Radish. They all have their own homes, but they eat dinner together (nowadays, they have hired a cook which they can "afford to split among 20").
Sonora Cohousing
This is what 36 cohousing dwelling units in an urban location on 5 acres looks like.
Shared resources include: pool, chickens, garden, lawn, children's house, common house, work shop, art room, guest house and abundant fruit trees.
Sonora Cohousing, Tucson AZ
https://www.sonoracohousing.com/
Crow Woods
Village Instigator Jane Lester from Seattle realized no existing co-housing community had room — so she created her own!
South Park Cottages in Atlanta-
Developer Booker Washington of Atlanta has created a modern tiny house & cottage home community in the Atlanta metro. Includes 29 two-story small & tiny homes, 399 to 635 sqft--energy efficient with smart home features & luxe finishes. Situated on 2.5 acres around communal spaces, including walking trails, gardens & fire pits with parking on the perimeter.
Here is a great explaination of MICROVILLAGE
A micro-village is a purposeful neighborhood that is designed to promote ommunity, interdependence, and wellness for its residents and surrounding neighbors. The design incorporates walking paths and green space in order to center human interaction and keep cars at the periphery. Micro-villages often utilize green building practices, alternative energy sources and permaculture to steward the land that they are built upon.
Learn about Missing Middle Housing
Opticos Design
Opticos work with the city of Winston Salem lead to adoption of new planning and development ordinances that enable building missing middle housing. See the 2019 presentation here: https://www.cityofws.org/DocumentCenter/View/1467/Missing-Middle-Housing-May-2019-PDF
RESEARCH: People who live in community are happier.
Amid a growing loneliness epidemic, many people are increasingly interested in cohousing—a form of intentional community where residents choose to develop a home together and cultivate a more social, supportive community of neighbours. However, cohousing communities face many challenges in developing housing, including expensive land, significant time and financial commitments, and complex municipal policy processes.
Financial support for a suburban home food forest.
Cottages on Vaughn
0.5 acre lot, a block from downtown Clarkston in the Atlanta Metro. Includes 8 tiny homes & micro-cottages situated around a common green space with edible regenerative landscaping. Total project costs: $1.2M including land acquisition and infrastructure.
$110K costs per home were sold for $175K average.
Earthseed is a center for community resilience through cooperative ownership of land and resources. Earthseed is a transformational response to systemic oppression, committed to centering People of Color and other communities pushed to the margins.
Projects include Tierra Negra Farms near Durham, a collective of farmers, educators and cultural workers, striving to model a community-controlled food system that is just and sustainable.
https://www.instagram.com/tierranegrafarm/
https://earthseedlandcoop.org/
Building affordable duplexes that help residents generate wealth
Donovan Adesoro explains a project:
$50K lot, $250 build, Buyer has $1800 mortgage with $1200 rental income
Neighborhood gets revitalized
Foundation for Intentional Community https://www.ic.org/
South Park Village
America’s First Black-Owned Tiny Home Village near Atlanta
Developer Booker T Washington
https://southparkcottages.com
Building Small
Building Small
Jim Heid, FSLA
Integrating the best thinking in economic resilience, authentic placemaking, and social responsibility https://www.jheid.com/small/
The CoHousing Company
The CoHousing Company
Investing Strategies
Lili Invests breaks down house hacking (rehab, not new construction)
Microlife Institute, Atlanta Georgia
https://www.microlifeinstitute.org/
Envisioning the SITE layout
This is what typical Winston Salem suburban sprawl looks like
0.21 acres per densely packed 1900 sf house, built on slab
Minimal open space. Significant portion of land for cars, not people
This is what we are disrupting
This is what upscale urban development can look like
3 acres
29 free standing homes
330 to 700 sq ft homes
This is the site plan for South Park Cottages in Georgia (SOLD OUT)
https://www.gacities.com/Resources/Reference-Articles/Combatting-the-Challenges-of-Affordable-Housing-in.aspx
This is what a pocket neighborhood in a high density neighborhood can look like.
1.37 acres
8 Cottages, 4 ADUs
Cottage (1220 sf), ADU (400 sf)
https://opticosdesign.com/work/wine-country-pocket-neighborhood-riverhouse/
Here is what you can do with 7 acres and mixed-sized proprties
Operates like a homeowner's association.
Each family owns their own home and shares ownership of the common house, playground, workshop and garden space.
A portion of the 5,000-square-foot common house and the 7 acres of land is deeded with each home at closing.
https://www.prairiehillcoho.org/
Here is a conversion of existing lots to a shared common property
Chase Street Commons
1 acre with existing and new housing and shared resources
https://chasestreetcommons.org/
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3860-Chase-St-Wheat-Ridge-CO-80212/13737202_zpid/
Mix of single family codo units with shared inside 'street' with 3 common rooms on each street.
The community features 34 privately owned townhomes, a 5,000-square-foot common house with a communal kitchen and dining room, shared laundry, underground parking, organic gardens, and preserved green spaces.
Here is a great explaination of MICROVILLAGE
A micro-village is a purposeful neighborhood that is designed to promote community, interdependence, and wellness for its residents and surrounding neighbors. The design incorporates walking paths and green space in order to center human interaction and keep cars at the periphery. Micro-villages often utilize green building practices, alternative energy sources and permaculture to steward the land that they are built upon.
This is what 36 dwelling units in an urban location on 5 acres looks like.
Shared resources include: pool, chickens, garden, lawn, children's house, common house, work shop, art room, guest house and abundant fruit trees.
https://www.sonoracohousing.com/
Design principles and research into how site design support happiness and social interaction.
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