35

In France, “participative housing”, the term for alternative self-built cohousing, is still in its infancy. These projects have to contend with legal complexities and an absence of legal recognition. A good example of this is the initiative of a group of activists from the voluntary sector in the Caens area who formed a cooperative of environmentally conscious, cohousing self-builders called Z’écobâtisseurs in 2011. Thirteen member families decided to build a cohousing community comprised of individual houses with some common areas to encourage cooperative activities. A pioneering initiative in France, the project is part of the solidarity economy and addresses environmental concerns. However, it is also a selective group as the residents have the same social, political and cultural backgrounds. We also observe residents reverting to their own private spheres and the abandonment of the common areas even though they were created out of the search for another way of living.