Arcadia, photographed from the air by Arcadia resident, pilot and Carrboro Citizen publisher Robert Dickson.

by Allie Maupin
Carrboro Commons Writer

With its landscaped footpaths and open space, Arcadia feels more like a small country hamlet than a residential neighborhood off busy Hillsborough Road in Carrboro.

The custom-built homes are positioned on small lots in close proximity to each other and cars are parked around the perimeter of the area, creating an atmosphere of community that is unparalleled in other neighborhoods. The concept, known as cohousing, is changing the way residents view where they live.

“The idea is to bring us together as more than just people that happen to live near one another,” said Giles Blunden, the architect behind Arcadia and a resident of more than 10 years. “Cohousing is living with intent as opposed to just buying real estate.”

Robert Dickson, who has lived in Arcadia for the last three years, said the biggest change in going from suburban living to cohousing is the increased interaction with neighbors.

“I lived in a suburban area in Fayetteville for 27 years,” Dickson said. “I drove my car into my garage and there was not much interaction. Here it is everyday. I generally have more interaction in one day in Arcadia then I would have had over a month in Fayetteville.”

According to the Cohousing Association of the United States (Coho/US), the concept began in Denmark in the 1960s and quickly spread across Europe and North America. Today, there are hundreds of these communities in the U.S., two of which, Arcadia and Pacifica, which is located off of North Greensboro Street.

Giles Blunden shows off the industrial stove in Arcadia’s Common House.
Staff photo by Allie Maupin

The Coho/US defines six characteristics of cohousing communities: a participatory process, neighborhood design, common facilities, resident management, non-hierarchical structure and no shared community economy.

Blunden, who runs his own architecture firm in downtown Carrboro, Blunden Studio, brought the concept to the area in 1997 after reading a book he received as a gift.

“Someone gave me a book, and said that cohousing sounded like something I would be interested in,” Blunden said. “I got that book and got inspired.”

While Blunden found a strong support base for cohousing in Carrboro, his greatest challenge was obtaining a special permit to build homes so close together.

“It all just happened,” Blunden said. “People were receptive to the idea and once the ball got rolling it never stopped.”

Dickson, publisher of the Carrboro Citizen, explained that what really counts in Arcadia is community. “We have common meals and share things together. Three of my neighbors and I got interesed in beekeeping and now we have a couple of hives.”

Arcadia’s common facilities are the center of the community. The common house features a large industrial kitchen, an eating area, guest bedrooms and a laundry.

Blunden explains that everyone does his or her part to keep Arcadia running.

Arcadia’s design encourages neighborly interaction with a car-free interior, contiguous homes and interconnecting paths.
Staff photo by Allie Maupin

“Our homeowner’s dues are in the form of community service,” he said. “We take turns making community dinners and divide up the management duties among the residents.”

Blunden sees the environment of innovation offered by cohousing as one of the community’s greatest assets.

“We work together to accomplish things. Recently, we have taken on the project of putting solar panels on the common house. One person brought it up at a meeting and from there the whole community works to make it happen,” he said.

“It is rewarding to see ideas get started and then grow into a reality.”

Blunden contends that cohousing is not for everyone, but if fully committed it is a very rewarding and empowering lifestyle. “There have been some families that left Arcadia because they needed more private space or did not adapt to the lifestyle,” he said.

“Its actually doing things the hardest way,” Dickson said. “Everyone’s opinion counts, so it changes the way we deal with each other. I never expected to know every living soul in my neighborhood by first name, but because I do it has changed my behavior.”

But Blunden sees Arcadia as a way to move community from being a group of passive members to people who actively work and live together.

“We come together and constantly ask ourselves what can do as a group that we can’t do alone?”