Abstract
The purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understand of the dwelling needs of residents who are interested in Cohousing. To do this, we interviewed 18 urban residents who wanted a community life; investigated consciousness of neighbor relationships; and analyzed their consciousness of Cohousing residences, preference types, and spatial needs. At first the research has revealed that the neighbor relationships of the participants were not very close and that there was a difference in awareness levels between a 'good neighbor' and 'strange neighbor' with regard to neighbors, though all of the participants required a vitalization of these relationships. Second, Cohousing residence types could be divided into the 'life preferred type' and 'space preferred type', depending on the differences of pursued dwelling interests. These could be further segmented into the 'leisure life preferred type' and 'daily life preferred type', 'public space preferred type' and 'individual space preferred type'. Thirdly, preferences for Cohousing types varied depending on differences in priority with regard to important concepts of the social-physical environment (e.g., community property, effectiveness, naturalness, economic feasibility, and individuality). Finally, we found that the greatest needs were for public gardens and exercise space as aspects of the common spaces. Agreements pertaining to special use were considered as most important during the design process of the common spaces.
