Cohousing Harrow is a community from diverse backgrounds in terms of age, ethnicity, religion, employment status, interests, outlooks and abilities. We want to create an intentional community and be part of the growing movement towards co-housing across the UK and abroad. We have come together to develop a community which values our diversity, creates good neighbours, supports future generations and inspires the wider community in North London and surrounding areas. We intend to build good quality, affordable, and sustainable housing which meets a variety of needs in terms of space, mixed financial structuring, and our shared values. What is cohousing? Cohousing is an intentional community model with shared values that is designed and managed by the community members. A cohousing community consists of families, single people, couples and adults from a variety of backgrounds, bringing different skills and having differing needs. Residents have their own private housing units but also share communal facilities. They manage the development of the community, share activities and support each other. The aim of cohousing is to overcome many of the inherent problems with individualised housing, such as affordability and isolation, and to ensure more sustainable living practices. The initial community members develop and co-design the community and housing project. Later, as the community grows or changes, the residents manage, maintain and share communal activities. There is a balance between private and communal spaces and engagement. An important principle of a cohousing community is collective ownership and management of the community and its spaces. To this end, financial and legal aspects are co-designed and the community develops its own democractic form of governance.