It is appropriate that this piece on Cohousing in the UK is being prepared for a continental periodical, as the original development of contemporary Cohousing neighbourhoods in Northern Europe remains a source of great fascination and inspiration to many who wish to extend such success into the UK and who are always interested in knowing what particular mechanisms might exist in other countries to support new projects. The wider context for how and where new community-centred projects could be realised remains a much-debated issue in the UK, and there are always wistful glances at any different rate for this to happen in other countries. Only approximately 10,000 properties out of the UK’s 24 million dwellings are collectively owned or managed by the ‘mutual housing sector’ (which include co-operatives, land trusts, Cohousing schemes, self build projects, and others...). While the current time is about the most optimistic for new UK schemes to be pushed forward, there is a constant awareness of the obstacles that groups have to face here in finding the suitable land and finance to make their schemes happen
