The happier missing middle: Lessons for building an urban cohousing village

This report from Happy Cities shares learning from Our Urban Village in Vancouver, Canada, which piloted an innovative "cohousing lite" model for socially connected housing.

The development is a unique collaboration between Our Urban Village, a cohousing community, and Tomo Spaces, a local developer, using a new model to reduce many of the financial and time barriers that cohousing groups can come up against. It prioritises resident wellbeing and social connection, and offers an innovative model for developing low-rise, “missing middle” housing in a largely single-family residential neighbourhood.

This report outlines key learnings on social connection, belonging and trust, private spaces, circulation spaces and common amenities from this innovative community to explore how cities can add gentle density and grow in a sustainable and social way. The report also aims to:

• Identify the wellbeing benefits associated with living in community-oriented housing.
• Identify design strategies that can support resident wellbeing and increase opportunities for positive social interaction among neighbours.
• Illustrate the wellbeing benefits of mutually supportive, trusting neighbours in multi-unit housing.