Northeast CoHousing Quarterly

155 Pine St., Amherst, MA 01002; 413/549-3616. $15/year individual, $30/year group.

As a regional CoHousing newsletter, Northeast CoHousing Quarterly (NCQ) has two primary missions. The first is provide a forum in which the many CoHousing groups can network and learn of each other’s progress. The second is to provide general information for new and existing groups on all the practical and theoretical topics relating to CoHousing.

NCQ strikes a good balance between these two missions. Subtitled “A Forum for the Development of CoHousing Communities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States,” the newsletter follows the activities of as many as thirty groups. The most advanced of these groups are beginning the construction of their communities, while many others are just beginning to work out common goals.

At the information end, it is the practical information that makes NCQ so valuable to its readers. As the newsletter’s introduction in Volume 1, Number 1 (Summer, 1990) puts it, “Every new CoHousing venture need not reinvent the wheel!” The practical information covered so far includes legal options for various types of cooperative ownership, financing, site design and land use, and group process.

The most recent issue (Winter, 1992) focuses on sustainability. It includes an article by Marc Rosenbaum titled “Sustainable Design Solutions” and a piece by Editor Bruce Coldham called “A Green Lesson From Europe.” (Excerpts from the latter article appeared in EBN Vol. 2, No. 1 in the “Letters” section.)

NCQ is published on a shoestring budget with lots of volunteer help. This situation makes for some scheduling irregularities—the “Quarterly” averages three issues per year—but it helps keep the cost down. The information in NCQ is highly useful, and as a venue for communication among CoHousing groups it is invaluable.

—N.M.