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Sophia Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 1992

What we do

Sophia Community is an intentional community living in a lovely big house in Hyde Park, near the University of Chicago. Four young women who had all spent a year doing volunteer work in inner-city Chicago neighborhoods founded Sophia Community in 1993.
We live in Quaker House, where we manage the house and guest business on behalf of the 57th Street Meeting of Friends. We have 1 family, and several singles in the community at present, and are open to more families.
Our key values are:
•Simple Living: communal chores, some organic food, shared community space, common household fund;
•Presence to Each Other: commitment to relationships, shared meals;
•Social Justice: we try to live the change we want;
•Spirituality: diverse, but we share spirituality together on special occasions;
•Hospitality: we run a small guest business for traveling Quakers and others.

Our Mission

intentional community

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Coliving

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1992
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1993
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 8 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
9

How to join

We recruit in April/May

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Phone or email to make arrangements. We may have guest rooms available; we charge for guests.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Regular fees: $400
Labor: Yes
The guest business we conduct requires about 2 hours/week.
Food and common expenses

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Workshop, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Community Land Trust or some other kind of nonprofit

Setting

  • Urban

Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.

Community type

  • Coliving

    Shared living spaces with private bedrooms/bathrooms and communal
    kitchens, dining, and social areas.

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    0.3 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Illinois, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
Offer
  • Marketplace
6 years ago

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves Books for Sale

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant introduce Cohousing with stories and pictures of both Danish and American communities. Beautiful photographs and line drawings illustrate the warmly written account of how these communities came to be. Specific information on legal and financial aspects of working with developers, group process, and design issues make this book informative as well as inspiring. This is the book which brought Cohousing to North America. This book is the much prized second edition which has become a rarer and somewhat of a collectors item. Its community case studies were not included in the more recent publication. It preceded Creating Cohousing which is widely available. I acquired 25 cases from a local distributor who closed down. If you would like three or more copies for yourself, to share with your friends or to market your group, please let me know. I would love for them to be made useful and find great homes. Books are paperback (hard copy was not an option at the time from the publisher) all brand new, in Oakland (CA) so could be picked in Oakland or mailed to you. I would very much like to recuperate what I paid which is $10 per book. So, If you would like three or more shipped, I will add the postage, packing and handling fees. I have sold several cases (18 books per case) for $150 per case ($8 per book). I have a little wiggle room on the pricing. Please let me know if you are interested. Use the Send Message button on this page.
Offer

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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