Cohousing communities, introduction of sustainable community

Abstract: Problems of unbridle urbanization have led to propose new models in order to better and more sustainable life and prepare social, economic and cultural needs of residents. Cohousing communities are housing models, which based on social communication and cooperation that propose sustainable types of housing for their residents rely on social participation, public spaces, protect private ownership and environmental protection. The purpose of research is to introduce cohousing model and its structure and so investigate dimensions of it. The research was conducted by reviewing librarian and online resources and descriptive-analytical method. The results imply that cohousing communities prepare sustainable housing models for residents and it's sustainability indexes including four components of strong social networks and social cohesion, encouraging pro-environmental behavior and lower consumption, producing a sense of well-being amongst cohousers and social inclusion and exclusiveness can be identified. In adjusting cohousing pattern with coexist cities of Iran, Iranian-Islamic characteristics of classic cities can be used in combination with sustainability components of cohousing communities.