What is “Intentional Community?”
“Intentional Community” is Newspeak for what used to be called a commune.
More specifically, it is an inclusive term describing not only communes, but also cohousing developments, residential land trusts, student co-ops, urban housing collectives, monastaries and ashrams, eco-housing, and other related living arrangements.
We prefer this term to the word “commune” not because we are partial to Newspeak as a general rule, but rather because commune carries far too many connotations which are just not particularly relevant to our situation. It is usually used to describe large rural groups devoted to self-sufficiency, living off of the land — and sometimes even off of the grid.
We live in a city, and while we do try to live reasonably simply, we are hardly dedicated to the ethos of self-sufficiency. We do not farm, most of our food comes from the supermarket, and to tell you the truth, we kinda like the grid.
If Intentional Community interests you, the Intentional Communities Website has plenty of good information. As a place to start, I would recommend “What's True About Intentional Communities: Dispelling the Myths.”