An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to promote a much higher degree of social interaction than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political or spiritual vision. They also share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include cohousing, residential land trusts, ecovillages, communes, kibbutzim, ashrams, and housing cooperatives. Typically, new members of an intentional community are selected by the community's existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or land owners (if the land is not owned by the community).
It is important to note that in the context of intentional communities the above terms have different meanings compared to the legal forms of real estate ownership that may have the same name.
* Characteristics
The purposes of intentional communities vary. They may include sharing resources, creating family-oriented neighborhoods and living ecologically sustainable lifestyles (ecovillages). Some communities are secular; others have a spiritual basis. Commonly there is a focus on egalitarian values. Other themes are voluntary simplicity, interpersonal growth and self-reliance. Some communities provide services to disadvantaged populations, for example, war refugees, the homeless, or people with developmental disabilities. Some communities operate learning or health centers.
Many communities have different types or levels of membership. Typically, intentional communities have a selection process which starts with someone interested in the community coming for a visit. Often prospective community members are interviewed by a selection committee of the community or in some cases by everyone in the community. Many communities have a "provisional membership" period. After a visitor has been accepted a new member is "provisional" until they have stayed for some period (often 6 months or a year) and then the community re-evaluates their membership. Generally, after the provisional member has been accepted they become a full member. In many communities the voting privileges and/or community benefits for provisional members are less than those for full members....cont'd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community*************************************************************************************************
Intentional Community Homepage -
Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, alternative communities, and other projects where people strive together with a common vision.
This web site serves the growing communities' movement, providing resources for finding a community home and creating more community in your life.
http://www.ic.org/New IC Wiki:
(Wikis are user-created; written and edited by their online community of users - Wikipedia is the best known example.)
http://wiki.ic.org/wiki/Special:Categories
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