Exploring the impact areas of cohousing: A scoping review and thematic analysis of post-2000 studies

This article examines the “cohousing” model as an alternative response to the commodification of housing and the accompanying environmental, social, and economic challenges. Focusing on cohousing as a holistic framework for social development, it traces the historical evolution of collaborative housing models to highlight their conceptual distinctions. A scoping review was conducted to conceptually clarify the impacts of cohousing, as it calls for a transformation of the home and all related factors as a form of daily life reform. For this purpose, studies on the cohousing model published between 2000 and 2024 were examined using the Web of Science and Scopus databases. From these, 87 articles that met the criteria were selected, and the approaches they used to address this housing model were analyzed. By identifying one or more contexts in which cohousing was studied in each article, a map of academic and practical impact areas was created. The analysis revealed that cohousing is addressed within five main themes: Political economy, social capital, resident profiles, design, and gender. These themes and their sub-themes are presented in a table reflecting the research trends of the given period (Table 2). The findings and evaluations aim to offer a comprehensive, interdisciplinary perspective for policymakers, local governments, and intentional communities interested in cohousing.

Keywords: Cohousing, co-living, cohabitation, shared-housing, social sustainability.