Passing the Torch at Magic
By Jen and Hilary Bayer We’re 20-year-old twins born and raised in Magic, a residential service learning community. As we’ve grown older we’ve wondered increasingly about futures we might shape here and elsewhere. Today about 20 Magic residents ranging in age from 15...
Generational Transition and Communal Longevity
By Tim Miller The question of generational transition in American communities is inescapably related to one enduring puzzle: although most communities are intended to be permanent institutions, their lifespans in a great many cases aren’t very long. Over and over,...
Communities #185: Passing the Torch: Generational Shifts in Community
Communities #185 Winter 2019 Note: You can order a copy of this issue here. How do intentional communities navigate generational change? What structures what help them outlast the founding generation? How are major responsibilities transferred as members age? Stories...On Community: A Graduated Series of Consequences and the “Community Eye”
Just knowing the community has this process in place deters people from breaking agreements. People don’t want to get a knock at the door by one fellow community member, much less three or four.
Raising Troubled Children in Cohousing
When the antisocial behavior of adopted boys at Takoma Village Cohousing begins to impact the larger community, their parents find open communication essential in identifying a path forward.