Phoenix Commons calls itself a “cooperative lifestyle community,” why use this term?

We believe the co-housing model of community organization is the best model for active seniors who are seeking the best way to sustain a vital community. We also think a cooperative form of ownership is the best way to sustain a community financially. Although the two have different histories, they both try to achieve the same outcome – a group of people who intentionally try to work together to create a sustainable and interdependent neighborhood that fosters independence and honors privacy. Rather than move into a senior-friendly community and accept what is offered by professional management, people now have an alternative to choose a lifestyle that uses cooperative principles (found in both co-housing and cooperatives) to achieve a self-managed community where the members make the rules.

So for our purposes, co-housing and cooperatives should be seen as siblings, with very few differences – used interchangeably for simplicity. A “cooperative lifestyle community” is therefore a descriptive term for a community where all choose to live under cooperative and co-housing principles.