Can Coliving Survive in a Socially Distanced Future?

There’s hardly a more enduring question than asking, how can humans harmoniously live together? Since the Industrial Revolution, togetherness has been overshadowed by the primacy of private home ownership in the West. More recently, however, several factors—post-recession economic hardship, increased migration to cities, housing shortages, and rent crises—have accelerated the need for alternatives. A 2019 Washington Post report reveals that American millennials only own 4% of real estate by value—32% less than boomers did at similar ages. Often by necessity, sometimes by choice, more of us are sharing rented spaces with others.

The Many Facets of Sharing Space 

 The sharing of our homes takes many forms. On one hand, we have the venture capital–funded, made-for-millennials micro-apartments with shared living areas that have popped up in the world’s metropolises, catering to the unattached, jet-setting digital nomad generation with plenty of all-inclusive perks. On the other hand are small cooperative projects that are collaboratively designed, built, and funded by private groups of individuals. Each member has a fully contained home, but shares amenities, resources, and company with the group. The modern form of this phenomenon, often referred to as "cohousing" or "coliving", originated in Denmark in the 1960s, and has remained popular across western Europe. 

Coliving has been on an exponential trajectory in the last several years. Between 2017-2019, Google searches of the term ‘coliving’ increased by a whopping 555%. In early 2020, 34.8% of tenants in the United Kingdom resided in a coliving arrangement. Then, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything changed. Cities were evacuated; jobs and incomes lost. Our homes became de facto bunkers. Common spaces became claustrophobic; shared surfaces dangerous. 

As potential virus carriers, we became threats to one another. Yet physical restrictions have taken a toll on our mental wellbeing. A sense of connection to our loved ones has never felt more important or needed. So how have coliving arrangements fared in this precarious year? And just how future-proof are they? 

Catering to the Long Term: Common

As COVID-19 began to explode throughout the United States, coliving provider Common, which offers various coliving arrangements in 10 cities, leapt into action in support of its 3,000 members. "The first things we did were operational." says Jenn Chang, creative director at Common, and head of Common Studio. That meant stocking up on toilet paper and other shared resources to "preemptively alleviate any conflicts that roommates might have." 

In response to the pandemic’s economic effects, Common enabled members to reclaim security deposits and make flexible payments. The issue of hygiene and safety in common areas was paramount. "A lot of people asked, ‘Are you going to ensure members can sit six feet apart at the dining table? Will you provide home offices in every apartment?’" Chang says. "The thing is, we can’t just design for now. We can’t solve all the problems in front of us through our walls and our windows—things that are built to last for centuries."