Community-Led Housing:
A Cohousing Development Approach
The handbook behind Township’s cohousing development practice — written by our own Ronaye Matthew and Margaret Critchlow. A practical guide to every stage of designing, financing, and building a cohousing neighborhood, drawn from over two decades of real-world experience across Canada.
Many books explain why community-led housing matters. This is the one that shows you how to make it happen. If you’re thinking about working with Township, reading it first is the best preparation for our process together.
The Book Behind Township’s Practice
Township’s Ronaye Matthew and Margaret Critchlow, PhD have successfully guided cohousing groups through formation, design, and construction — twelve completed communities across Canada between them. Community-Led Housing is where they distilled that experience, and it forms the methodological backbone of how Township approaches every project.
Cohousing groups have historically struggled to coordinate the architectural, financial, and community facilitation expertise they need — often working with professionals who don’t share a common framework. Township was built to solve that. With Ronaye and Margaret now on our team, clients work within a single, proven approach. Reading this book is the best way to understand that approach — and to arrive at your first conversation with us ready to hit the ground running.
What’s Inside
Thirteen chapters covering the full arc of cohousing development — from first conversations to move-in day.
What It Takes
Chapters 1–2 · Introduction & What It Takes to Develop a Community Led Housing Project
Introduces community-led housing and sets honest expectations for what the development process actually requires — the commitment, expertise, collaboration, and time involved from the first idea through to a completed neighborhood.
Organizing Your Group
Chapters 3–6 · Finding and Hiring Professionals · Organizational Structure · Decision-Making · Building Community Membership
Covers how to find and hire the right professionals, establish an effective organizational structure, set up decision-making frameworks that work for a group, and recruit and build your community membership from the ground up.
Design & Development
Chapter 7 · Design and Development
Guides groups through the design and development phase — working with architects, running participatory design workshops, and navigating the approvals process on the path from site selection to construction start.
Legal, Financial & Site
Chapters 8–10 · Legal Structure and Agreements · Financial Structure · Establishing Feasibility, Finding and Securing a Site
Covers the legal structures and agreements that protect your group, how to structure and manage project finances, and the step-by-step process for establishing feasibility, finding, and securing the right site.
Construction, Completion & Living in Community
Chapters 11–13 · Construction · Completion · How to Prepare for Living in Community
Takes your group through managing construction and reaching completion — then, just as importantly, how to prepare for the transition from building a cohousing project to actually living in one together.
About the Authors
Township’s Ronaye Matthew and Margaret Critchlow bring this book’s methodology to life on every project we take on.
Ronaye Matthew
Senior Development Consultant & AdvisorRonaye is widely recognized as Canada’s foremost cohousing development expert, having guided twelve communities from concept through to move-in over more than two decades. After earning a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture and working in conventional residential development across Alberta and British Columbia, she shifted focus to cohousing in 1996 and never looked back. She has lived at Cranberry Commons Cohousing in British Columbia since its completion in 2001.
Margaret Critchlow, PhD
Community Building Facilitator & AdvisorMargaret spent twenty-five years as a professor of Social Anthropology at York University in Ontario. Her field research with Vanuatu villagers in the South Pacific first revealed to her the importance of community-led housing. A leading voice in academic cohousing discourse, she has authored and co-authored more than fifty academic articles and seven books — including works on housing cooperatives, customary land tenure, colonial history, and international development. She co-founded Harbourside Cohousing, the first senior cohousing community in western Canada, and lived there from 2016-2026 before moving to Cranberry Commons.
What Communities & Experts Say
Praise from architects, presidents, and cohousing community founders.
“There’s a lot written about smart cohousing design, but a book about cohousing development has been a long time coming. It stresses the importance of a can-do attitude accompanied with experienced guides. The book is a crucial point of departure—enhance it, learn from it, grow from it. I think Matthew and Critchlow’s “straight talk” will help everyone make more community in the future.”
“Community Led Housing provides an excellent overview of the cohousing development process, passing on the authors’ deep experience creating these communities. As someone who has done similar work in the US, working as a development consultant with cohousing groups across North America, it’s great to see how much we agree on.”
“This book is essential for groups considering cohousing, and more importantly, this is a great guide in helping other professionals work on cohousing developments. I am grateful that she is willing to pass along all that she has learned over the years so that others may benefit.”
“For those who yearn for a more connected future, this book is a guide for bringing the village of your dreams to life.”
“This sensible guide is the kind of community how-to book I love—stunningly clear, well-organized, and easy to follow—written by two of the most skilled and experienced cohousing experts in North America. The authors’ wealth of sensible, field-tested advice will improve your chances of success immeasurably and no doubt save you money, time, and heartbreak. I can’t recommend Community Led Housing highly enough for aspiring communitarians in Canada, in the US, and in other English-speaking countries too!”
“The world needs this book! Community Led Housing delivers essential tools for those who dream of building a community where neighbours know, trust, and support one another. Ronaye Matthew helped bring my own community’s cohousing dream to life. In this powerful book, she and co-author Margaret Critchlow offer the wisdom to help others do the same.”
“Matthew and Critchlow have crafted a much needed how-to book for creating community-based housing. As people around the globe search for new ways of living to reduce our carbon imprint and enhance social relationships, documenting successful community-building is more important than ever.”
“Community Led Housing is a beacon of inspiration for those eager to embrace a more harmonious and sustainable lifestyle. This book, guided by the profound wisdom of Matthew and Critchlow, offers a road map to community-led living, where friendships thrive and shared values flourish. Their leadership in the realm of Canadian cohousing is unparalleled, making this book an essential resource for anyone looking to embark on a journey of meaningful connection and purposeful living.”
“In a world that struggles mightily with inequality and power-over dynamics, Matthew and Critchlow offer a blueprint for how to live more cooperatively—advice grounded in eleven successful communities. This book is important for anyone looking to craft viable alternatives to the squabbling and isolation that too often characterize traditional neighbourhoods.”
“As mayor, I’m glad to have supported the development of not one but two cohousing communities in our small town—Harbourside and West Wind Harbour. The ongoing actions of these engaged citizens have enriched the larger community. Cohousing projects offer great prototypes for sustainable, multifamily development. I was proud to hold my golden shovel!”
“We are so grateful to be living here at West Wind Harbour (most of the time . . . ) and we’re constantly reminded, as we look at the physical property and the positive community processes that we learned about, of all the work Margaret and Ronaye put in to make our dream come true. I’m convinced it wouldn’t have happened without them. COVID certainly added a few bumps along the way, especially for us after move-in, and as they say, life in cohousing ‘has its moments.’ But the foundation we were given is proving to be solid enough to help keep us focused on our values and willing to come to acceptable solutions.”
Ready to build your community?
Township brings this book’s method to life on every project we take on. If you’re exploring how to turn a shared vision into a real neighborhood, we’d love to talk.
Get in touch with TownshipOrder the Handbook
Choose your purchase channel below. Find local editions in Canada, global editions on Amazon, or specific international marketplaces.
Amazon
For US, Canada, and international orders. Available as paperback or instant digital delivery Kindle eBook. Offers global shipping.
Indigo.ca
The preferred print storefront for Canadian cohousing groups. Order physical paperback copies locally within Canada to ensure direct nationwide shipping.