Predicting an American future for cohousing

Cohousing is an innovative form of accommodation. It offers economic, environmental and social advantages over existing forms of development. Cohousing emerged in the USA during the past 20 years as an innovative housing form with a niche market, but adoptions to date have been limited. This paper seeks to determine the future for cohousing in the USA, using innovation diffusion theories. It reviews the factors influencing the rate of diffusion of cohousing (relative advantages, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability). It investigates the impact of path dependencies and the existence of disruptive technologies on adoptions. It considers the potential for cohousing to cross the chasm and be adopted by the mainstream. The findings of the research suggest that grass-roots approaches to the creation of cohousing communities are likely to result in the greatest number of adoptions in the future. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.