175 Richdale Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
(617) 661-1682
- Introduction
- What is Cohousing?
- FAQ
- Vision Statement
- People
- Social Activities
- Advice to Other Cohousers
- Cambridge Cohousing Condo Association and Bylaws
- Construction and Site Info
- Site History
- Site Tours
- Ecologically Friendly Design and Practices
- Development and Finances
About Us 
Who We Are
Trying to explain who we are via written word is really impossible, but we'll try to give you a taste. The initial members of Cambridge Cohousing were mostly veterans of other local cohousing groups that hadn't gotten off the ground and/or members of the Cambridge Friends Meeting House. Because of our prior experience and established community connections (or maybe it's just our urban lifestyle), we developed quickly into a hard-working, goal-oriented group, determined to find and buy land and move into our community as soon as possible. Now that we have moved into our homes, our membership continues to grow and change, enriching and strengthening our community with diverse backgrounds, careers, and interests.
We range in age from less than 1 to 81 years old. We include:
- Children, parents, grandparents, singles, single parents, and couples.
- Asian, black, hispanic, and white members.
- Members of many different religions, including Quakers, Jews, (and Jewish Quakers), Episcopalians, agnostics and atheists.
- Gays and lesbians and parents and friends of gays and lesbians.
- Physically and developmentally disabled members.
- Teachers, developers, consultants, graphic artists, writers, a lawyer, an actuary, engineers, students, therapists and more.
Some quotes from our biographies:
Peg is a transplant from New York City via Ipswich, MA, where she lived for 24 years overlooking acres of salt marsh with her 2 children and their father. She now loves exploring Cambridge city life on foot, doing some photography, and is also busy going to the theater, folk music and other concerts, and most recently, taking cooking classes at the local Bread and Circus Market. For a number of years, Peg has been an active member of Greater Boston PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). During the workweek, she is busy "promoting change in the delivery of school health services in MA."
Jesse and Cindy met while getting their B.A.s at Hampshire College. They have three children, ages 3, 5, and 9, and Jesse caught all three!...An important event in Cindy and Jesse's lives was a one-year trip to Israel they took as a couple. While there they lived on two different kibbutzim, an experience which has fueled their interest in cohousing.
Bob's "father was descended from English and Welsh Quakers, and his mother's parents were German...His life work has been spent in three occupations: library administration, food service and retail book selling...He has three children, two of whom live in the Boston area. He also helped raise two step-sons. Best of all, he has four grandchildren."
Rowena married and raised children in Boston and was a community activist. She has a B.S. in Biology and was biomedical researcher. She graduated from Law School in 1978 and became an environmental lawyer (EPA, GP&H, MWRA) and specializes in sewage treatment and hazardous waste facility siting....She is currently involved in policy analysis in the area of the development and implementation of intelligent transportation initiatives.
Gwen became fascinated by publication design, and studied design full-time for two years. In 1980 she returned to Harvard as a designer of books and book jackets at Harvard University Press. Gwen always loved art, and wrote, edited and illustrated every school and camp publication she could find starting in third grade. However, it was only after she completed her formal education that she realized she could actually make a living at something that is so much fun....She and her partner put out the New England Storytelling Newsletter, and they are cooking up a children's book written by him, illustrated by Gwen, about New York City, a cab driver and many cats.
Maddy grew up in Brooklyn, NY and thought NYC was the center of the universe. That view changed rapidly when she moved to Nebraska to get her PhD in counseling psychology. Life in Nebraska was like living in a 'leave it to Beaver' time warp, but great fun and very inexpensive, e.g. tuition was $14 per credit! After a while, life in Lincoln grew on her and she knew she didn't want to return to the high power bustle of NY so she applied for internships in Boston and has been here ever since.
Diane bought a down-and-out weekly, The Brooklyn Heights Press with her late husband. A few years later, The Press went bankrupt because it supported a group of upstart reform democrats instead of the bosses - but not before winning a Poll award. Meanwhile, Harry and Philip were born. Currently, she is working on another book and enjoying her grandchildren.
Ed and Jean have been married for over 55 years! They married during W.W.II and then converged on the East Coast from New York state and the midwest. They've stayed here ever sinc. Ed is a child psychiatrist and began using film as a teaching aide at Harvard. That led to launching a documentary film program. Jean, a clinical psychologist, had an early interest in housing, and in addition to her work with us, founded Harvest Housing, which works towards establishing cooperative households. Jean is also on the board of directors of the Equal Exchange fair trade coffee importing company.
