The article investigates whether collaborative housing can be a strategy in small-scale neighbourhood renewal. It asks whether this housing type effects the surrounding neighbourhood, whether the foundation for interaction is laid during the development process and what pre-requisites are required. Five international projects, each located within a neighbourhood undergoing transition - shaken by earthquakes, economic woes, and/or demographic changes - are described along with their non-profit developers and the alliances formed to assist in their realization. Here, the term collaborative housing is used and defined as broader than co-housing. Two urban settings are examined: revitalization of existing inner-city structures and urban infill. Aside from the built dimension, collaborative housing has a residential dimension that the examples also portray: inter generational, senior-friendly, senior and ethnic minority developments. Although the social dimension, development timeline and ongoing requirements of living in collaborative housing appeal to a limited segment of the population, it is an important housing model that can achieve two goals: encourage residents to socialize, care and interact with each other as well as caring, interacting, and modelling community within the neighbourhood.
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