One solution to the Bay Area housing crisis is cohousing, in which multiple people and families choose to live together. Whether in a single home, or a compound, they share the costs of living and housework.
One example is in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood. The Temescal Creek Cohousing Community is a cluster of two story houses: There's a shared garden, play yard, chicken coop and even a solar hot tub. It was started in 1999 by Karen Hester, who gave Hana Baba the grand tour on a quiet weekday morning.
Hester: We started with three duplexes, and now we have 12 units -- so we have about 20 adults and 10 kids that live here.
You can read more of Karen Hester's story and more stories about alternative living spaces in the upcoming book, How We Live Now, by Bella de Paulo. The book will be available on August 25.
