Community Shared Spaces
How Sharing Space Can Help Tackle Climate Change
Part of the Climate Steps Social/Community Pages
Sharing materials, food (visit our Community – Food page), finances (Community – Finance page), and more serves several worthwhile purposes in communities, with two main benefits being lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and saving money. By sharing buildings with other people in your community, you can achieve both at significant levels, since buildings are often large. Consider:
- If we share buildings, we’ll usually not only use less construction materials but have a lower overall volume of spaces to heat or cool than we would if living and working in separate buildings. Since most heating and cooling results in GHG emissions (please visit our Energy page for alternative approaches), the less of it we need, the better for the planet. And obviously, that also saves us money.
- Additionally, the less land that is taken for concrete and other structures, the more land that can remain natural, with carbon-absorbing plants.
- Shared buildings can cost less to rent or own than separate buildings. If owned, property taxes may also be shared.
- Inside shared buildings, we’re also very likely to share items with the people we live or work with, such as a washing machine, a set of plates in a home, or a printer in an office. This means we buy less, thereby avoiding the emissions associated with the extraction, processing, and manufacturing of raw materials into assembled products, as well as the emissions related to the transportation between each of those stages. (See our developing section on Stuff.)
But there are other strong benefits: sharing spaces creates bonds between people, and those bonds can lead to better health for participants (South University, Georgia, U.S.); they may also help us withstand future climate shocks (U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services). Additionally, at the time of writing, the U.S. is enduring an epidemic of loneliness with considerable negative health effects (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.), but sharing a space can help alleviate that as well. (Please also see this study from the National Library of Medicine regarding the positive mental health benefits of living with other adults.)
The nice thing is that you can go beyond sharing a space where you live or work; you and your community can invest together in land and buildings to make sure that either or both are used in ways that the community prefers, and those choices can also result in lower emissions. Read on for more information about all of these options.
Shared living space — let’s investigate the options!
Photo by Cliff Both via Pexels.com
Sharing housing is just what it sounds like, sharing your home with other people, and it’s not all that different from having roommates. It used to be that in most developed nations, people stopped living with roommates when they reached their late 20s or early 30s. Today in the U.S., more and more people of various ages are living with non-family members (Colorado Newsline), often for the sake of saving money, but increasingly for other reasons, (Christian Science Monitor) such as sharing ideas, interests, and, of course, companionship. We can keep our expenses and fossil fuel emissions lower by living with others instead of living separately, and we can share tasks.
Photo by Keira Burton via Pexels.com
For example, if three single mothers move into a home together, they’ll pay less for the heating and cooling of one building or
apartment than they would for three, and they won’t need to buy separate microwaves or sets of pots and pans. They can share tasks, like looking after each other’s children instead of trying to find daycare for them. As a result, they’ll avoid higher emissions related to heating and cooling as well as the manufacture and delivery of household items and devices. Living together makes it easier to share a car, whether that means scheduling which resident is using it when, or asking the person who uses it most to run errands for others in exchange for household chores or child care.
However, whether the housing is rented or owned makes an important difference in a tenant’s legal standing. If you rent your home, then your landlord will set some of the rules about how you live there, while other rules are agreed upon between you and your roommates (more on getting along with the people you live with below). Some of you may have the opportunity to be the landlord instead, and can even set rules that help support composting, energy conservation, and other climate solutions. Co-owning a home, though, can exist under different scenarios, and the legal descriptions of them may differ depending on where you live. Here are some choices in the U.S. to consider:
- “Tenancy in Common (TIC) is a legal arrangement in which two or more parties share ownership rights in a real estate property or parcel of land. Each independent owner may control an equal or different percentage of the total property, whether commercial or residential. The parties are known as tenants in common.” (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tenancy_in_common.asp)
- “The term ‘joint tenancy’ refers to a legal arrangement in which two or more people own a property together, each with equal rights and obligations. Joint tenancies can be created by married and unmarried couples, friends, relatives, and business associates.”
Photo by Daniel Nebreda via Pixabay.com
- “A condominium (also called a ‘condo’) is a large property complex comprised of individual units, and each unit is owned separately. Ownership usually includes a nonexclusive interest in certain “community property” controlled by thecondominium management.” (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/condominium.asp)
- “A housing cooperative or ‘co-op’ is a type of residential housing option that is actually a corporation whereby the owners do not own their units outright. Instead, each resident is a shareholder in the corporation based in part on the relative size of the unit that they live in.” These include limited equity housing cooperatives, or LEHCs. (https://www.investopedia.com/search?q=Housing+Cooperative)
- “Mutual housing means housing provided by an eligible developer, owned and managed by a nonprofit mutual housing association or by an entity controlled by a nonprofit mutual housing association, in which residents participate in ongoing operation and management; have the right to continue residing in such housing [so] as long as they comply with the terms of their respective occupancy agreement; and have an ownership interest in such occupancy agreement, conditional upon compliance with its terms, but do not possess an equity interest in such housing.” (https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/mutual-housing)
- “Mutual housing means housing provided by an eligible developer, owned and managed by a nonprofit mutual housing association or by an entity controlled by a nonprofit mutual housing association, in which residents participate in ongoing operation and management; have the right to continue residing in such housing [so] as long as they comply with the terms of their respective occupancy agreement; and have an ownership interest in such occupancy agreement, conditional upon compliance with its terms, but do not possess an equity interest in such housing.” (https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/mutual-housing)
Homelessness
Homelessness was prevalent in many parts of the world before we began to heat up our climate, but the onset of global warming has made a bad problem worse (Climate Reality Project). We may all be vulnerable to future climate shocks, but the homeless are more vulnerable to such shocks than most of us, because so many of them are already suffering from poor physical and mental health. And, because they have no guarantee of shelter, they’re completely exposed to increasing heat and more violent storms. According to the Center for Disease Control:
“Homelessness is closely connected to declines in physical and mental health; homeless persons experience high rates of health problems such as HIV infection, alcohol and drug abuse, mental illness, tuberculosis, and other conditions. Health problems among homeless persons result from various factors, such as barriers to care, lack of access to adequate food and protection, and limited resources and social services.”
As mentioned, people suffering these kinds of problems are more likely to be overwhelmed as a result of future climate shocks, resulting in greater stress on health clinics and hospitals, not to mention fatalities. However, communities that invest their time and money into helping their homeless neighbors find and keep homes aren’t just being compassionate; they’re improving things for everyone. In 2012, Daniel G. Garrett wrote “The Business Case for Ending Homelessness: Having a Home Improves Health, Reduces Healthcare Utilization and Costs”. He argued that communities save money by housing their homeless:
- The provision of housing to homeless residents decreases by nearly 61% the number of visits they make to emergency departments
- Providing permanent supportive housing to the homeless community saves the taxpayer money:
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- Healthcare costs are reduced by 59%
- Emergency department costs are decreased by 61%
- The number of general inpatient hospitalizations is decreased by 77%
- For members of the community who need assistance resolving their medical and/or psychosocial problems, permanent supportive housing is often the only successful approach to ending homelessness
- Safe and permanent housing can give residents the stability they need to organize their lives and maintain their health.
Additionally, permanent housing makes it easier for people to find jobs and contribute to taxes. By providing shelter for local homeless people, communities begin the process of building trust among participants while inspiring them to continue to care for each other — qualities that will help them withstand future climate shocks. For more on how communities can protect local affordable housing, see the section on community land trusts near the bottom of this page.
Zoning Law
What Are Zoning Laws?
Zoning laws are created by local governments to limit the types of construction, building size and uses, etc., that are allowed on local land. A collection of laws is called an ordinance. Some gated communities and homeowners’s associations may have additional zoning laws.
Types of Zoning
Photo courtesy of the city of Lee’s Summit, MO
In the U.S., zoning is generally divided between
- Residential: apartment buildings and free-standing homes
- Commercial: stores and offices
- Industrial: manufacturing and warehouses
How to Check Zoning Laws
- Find your property. You’ll need an assessor’s parcel number, or APN.
- Make sure you know which municipality you’re in. Some cities are right next to each other, and the building you’re considering may not be in the municipality you think it’s in.
- Check zoning maps. Depending on where you are, these may be available on the internet. If not, you may need to visit the offices of your local government and ask for their help. Find out how the area that your building is located in is zoned, whether it’s residential, commercial or industrial. You probably can’t live in an area not zoned for residential use.
- Check municipality ordinances to see if there are any restrictions on who can live together in a home.
For more information, look here.
Co-Living or Co-Housing?
There’s more than one way to categorize these types of shared living situations; collaborative housing choices are also divided in this way:
- “Co-Living is similar to a dormitory-style housing for adults, with each person renting their own studio apartment and then sharing common spaces like laundry rooms or study areas.” (https://www.shareable.net/is-collaborative-housing-right-for-you/)
Graphic by Łukasz Siwy via Pixabay.com
- “Co-Housing projects are similar to co-living, but instead of small apartments in a building with common areas, participants have small, detached houses affording some privacy, and then common areas — like kitchens, dining rooms, laundry rooms, and other areas where people can socialize.”
(https://www.shareable.net/is-collaborative-housing-right-for-you/)
In this last example, the houses are often REALLY small — they’re actually referred to as “tiny” houses. Not all tiny houses are located in these kinds of “villages,” but when they are, it’s often for housing seniors called collaborative retirement. You can read more about creating a tiny house village here (via shareable.net) and more about how tiny houses fight global warming via a Climate Steps overview article here.
In each of these types of arrangements, participants can keep their heating and cooling costs and emissions lower than they would if they lived separately, as well as the emissions avoided by sharing household items and appliances. In fact, a study in 2020 found that the creation of every new product resulted in greenhouse gas emissions totaling 6 times the product’s weight! And by sharing chores and childcare, home-mates can avoid outsourcing that work, saving money and reducing travel time and travel-related emissions.
Shared work space
In addition to sharing living spaces, people also sometimes share working spaces, and those arrangements can be roughly divided into co-working space vs. shared office space. Both have been around for a while, allowing time for new ideas to develop about how to share space and work together. There’s some overlap between these concepts as well as a lot of experimentation.
First, let’s define terms. Imagine that you’re a member of a small business needing a space to work by yourself or with a small team, focusing tightly on your work and ideas, but the only buildings available are too big for your needs. You might be interested in sharing either a small office building or perhaps one floor of a large building but with physical boundaries limiting the distraction of seeing and hearing other people. That’s shared office space.
However, if you’re interested in sharing ideas and networking with small companies and individuals with interests similar to your own, then you may be more interested in coworking. In that case, you may prefer some open spaces as well as some smaller, closed rooms for separate work or meetings.
Either way, it makes sense to share office equipment like printers and projectors, furniture such as meeting room tables and chairs, and break-room refrigerators and microwaves, thereby avoiding the emissions associated with creating new products.
Additionally, working with small companies and like-minded individuals may mean you have greater say about where the business is located. Some groups that share space or co-work choose buildings closer to where workers live, decreasing travel time and the fossil fuel emissions related to long trips to work.
Things to consider about collaborative housing
- Do you want to live near your friends or family?
- What’s required for people to get along when living so closely?
- If children will live there, how will they be taken care of?
- How long has this group been together, have people left, and if so, why?
- For larger communities, does everyone do their fair share of the work?
- How is work divided, and how are those decisions made?
- Some neighborhoods don’t like unrelated adults living in the same home (read more about that and how some people are trying to change things here). Are there legal restrictions (NOLO.com) on whether you can live with other adults?
Find out before you commit. We’ll have more information about how to get manage large groups of people soon!
Here are some other possibilities:
Coworking and office sharing in shifts.
Not everyone wants to work from 9 am to 5 pm. Some people do their best work at night (Stylework.city). Some shared offices
Photo by Miguel Angel Hernandez via Unsplash.com
divide the day between at least two shifts so they can maximize the space’s usefulness while allowing night owls to work when they’re most productive. For shared office space, this could mean bringing in an entirely separate business group to share rent, overhead expenses, and resources while avoiding the emissions resulting from operating a separate building and buying office items, appliances and machines that could be shared.
Coworking with daycare.
Instead of having separate buildings for working families and day care for their children, you can combine the two in one space
Photo by Sarah Pflug via Burst.com
(tinybeans.com), saving on rent, heating and cooling expenses, and removing the need to travel to drop off and pick up the kids, all of which of course reduces greenhouse gas emissions. And parents can check on their kids in the middle of the work day!
Women-only coworking.
In most of the world, gender has determined the kind of work one did in an office for a long time. Things are changing, but most CEOs are still male (smallbizgenuis), and men still tend to be paid more for similar jobs (Pew Research Center). So it’s probably no surprise that
Photo by Yan Krukov via Pexels.com
sometimes women prefer to work only with other women (Coworking Insights). In some cases, women-only coworking spaces offer support for pregnant women and women recovering from pregnancy, including lactation rooms and, as noted above, on-site daycare.
Community Land Trusts/Investment Trusts
Communities that like the idea of allowing adults to live together and/or that want to support coworking and shared office spaces can make it easier for interested parties to move in and stay put through land trusts/investment trusts. By keeping homes affordable, they can also decrease local homelessness. According to Grounded Solutions Network, there are over 225 CLTs in the U.S. alone. The non-profit organization Shelterforce outlines what they are, how they’re created, and how they are used:
“…a structure that allows land to be held ‘in trust’ for community needs, outside of the influence of market pressures. A classic CLT is an independent community-controlled entity that owns land and takes care of (or ‘stewards’) that land, making sure it is being used in ways that support the community it is accountable to.
CLTs have also been established by…community developers, by coalitions of nonprofits, and by government agencies. There are many variations in form.
Land in a CLT can be used for many things—agriculture, small businesses and community facilities, community gardens, rental housing, cooperative housing, and homeownership. CLTs are currently best known for providing permanently affordable housing….”
“One of the most unusual things about a CLT is that it can separate the ownership of land from the ownership of the buildings on that land. This separation of land and building allows homeowners and businesses to have control and security as owners, while the community has a backstop to ensure that when the land changes hands it stays affordable and in community-serving uses.”
CLT’s can also influence how new buildings are created, lowering the carbon footprint of construction and increasing housing resilience in anticipation of future climate shocks. According to the non-profit Georgetown Climate Center, “Many CLTs are incorporating green design features to reduce the carbon footprint of housing and to increase the resilience of housing to extreme weather. Features include renewable energy, weatherization, energy and water efficient utilities, and flood resilience improvements” (https://www.georgetownclimate.org/files/report/Community_Land_Trust_Report_2021.pdf).
Here’s a guide to Community Land Trusts in the U.S. and, through a link on the site, Europe.
Go for it!
Obviously, there’s a lot to be gained for our communities and our environment by sharing living and working spaces as well as protecting our access to such arrangements. Talk to your neighbors about options and opportunities, and see what you can promote where you live.
More Community Resources
Contributors: Mark Stewart, Annette Olson
Photo credits:
Header — City street intersection: Photo by Jo Wiggijo via Pixabay.com
- Aerial view of multi-story buildings: Photo by Pete Linforth via Pixabay.com
- Overhead view of shared meal: Photo by Fauxels via Pexels.com
- Open, shared office space: Photo by Ewan Buck via Unsplash.com
- Coworkers: Photo by Kindle Media via Pexels.com
- Woman working in office at night: Photo by Miguel Angel Hernandez via Unsplash.com
- Person holding infant: Photo by Sarah Pflug via Burst.com
- Women working together: Photo by Yan Krukov via Pexels.com