When you look at today's sleek coliving spaces with their carefully designed common areas and vibrant community events, it's easy to think of them as a modern innovation. But shared living is actually as old as humanity itself. The path from ancient tribal dwellings to contemporary urban coliving communities tells a fascinating story about our enduring need for connection and our adaptive approach to creating home.
Throughout history, humans have continuously reimagined how we live together—sometimes out of necessity, sometimes by choice, but always reflecting the values and challenges of their time. Today's coliving movement isn't just a novel response to urban housing shortages or millennial preferences—it's the latest chapter in our long history of creating shared homes.
Timeline: The Evolution of Shared Living
Ancient & Traditional Era
◽ Pre-Industrial Age: Tribal communities & extended family compounds
◽ Classical Period: Monasteries & religious communities
◽ Medieval Era: Guild houses & communal structures
Early Modern Era (1800s)
◽ Early 1800s: Rise of utopian communities
◽ Mid 1800s: Workers' housing cooperatives emerge
◽ Late 1800s: Settlement house movement begins
Modern Foundations (1900-1990)
◽ 1900-1920s: Urban housing cooperatives spread
◽ 1960-1970s: Hippie communes & intentional communities flourish
◽ 1970s: Danish cohousing movement begins
Contemporary Era (1990-Present)
◽ 1990-2000s: Global spread of cohousing
◽ 2010s: Professional coliving operators emerge
◽ 2020s: Tech-enabled community living & global networks develop
Our Shared Past: The Ancient Roots of Communal Living
Humans have always lived in community. From the earliest tribal settlements to medieval European guild houses, from traditional Asian courtyard homes to African compound housing systems, our ancestors understood that sharing space and resources wasn't just about survival—it was about thriving.
Take the traditional Chinese siheyuan, a courtyard house design that has existed for over two thousand years. These elegant structures weren't just homes; they were carefully designed social ecosystems that balanced private family spaces with shared areas for community interaction. The courtyard itself served as a shared heart of the community, much like the modern coliving spaces I've visited in Beijing that consciously echo this ancient wisdom in their design.
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The Spiritual and Utopian Experiments
Religious and spiritual communities have long been at the forefront of shared living innovation. Monasteries, kibbutzim, and ashrams didn't just provide housing—they created entire lifestyles based on shared values and purpose. The kibbutz movement in Israel, for instance, pioneered many of the community-building practices we see in modern coliving spaces, from shared meals to collective decision-making processes.
The 19th century saw a flowering of utopian communities, each trying to create a better way of living through sharing. The Fourierist Phalanstères in France and various American utopian communities might seem distant from today's coliving spaces, but they wrestled with many of the same challenges: How do you balance private and shared space? How do you create sustainable community governance? How do you select and integrate new members
Monasteries, kibbutzim, and ashrams didn't just provide housing—they created entire lifestyles based on shared values and purpose.
🔷 The Counter-Cultural Revolution and the Birth of Modern Cohousing
The 1960s and '70s brought a new wave of experimentation with communal living. While many hippie communes failed, they left us with valuable lessons about the importance of structure, governance, and financial sustainability in shared living communities. It's no coincidence that this era also gave birth to the modern cohousing movement in Denmark.
The Danish Bofællesskaber (living communities) model, developed in the 1970s, marked a crucial evolution. Unlike earlier communes, cohousing combined private ownership with shared community spaces and activities. This hybrid approach—respecting both individual autonomy and community needs—would later influence many modern coliving developments.
While many hippie communes failed, they left us with valuable lessons about the importance of structure, governance, and financial sustainability in shared living communities.
🔷 The Urban Crisis and the Rise of Professional Coliving
Today's coliving movement isn't just about choosing a different way to live—it's responding to urgent challenges. Global urbanization, housing affordability crises, and epidemic levels of loneliness have created a perfect storm that demands new housing solutions.
I've witnessed this firsthand in cities from London to Mumbai. Young professionals, faced with exorbitant rents and isolating traditional housing options, are embracing coliving not just as a compromise, but as a preferred way of living. The difference from historical models is the level of professionalization and scale.
Technology: The Game Changer
What truly sets modern coliving apart from its historical predecessors is technology. Today's coliving spaces use sophisticated property management systems, community engagement platforms, and IoT integration to create seamless living experiences. In a coliving space in Tokyo, I watched residents use their smartphones to do everything from booking common spaces to organizing spontaneous community events—a level of convenience and connection our ancestors could hardly have imagined.
Learning from History, Building for Tomorrow
As we look to the future of coliving, the most successful models will be those that balance timeless human needs with modern innovations. The fundamental principles that made ancient communal living work—shared purpose, clear governance, balanced design, and strong community bonds—remain relevant today.
Yet we're also seeing exciting new developments. Intergenerational coliving spaces are challenging age segregation in housing. Rural coliving communities are revitalizing abandoned villages. Wellness-focused developments are integrating physical and mental health into their core offering.
The key lessons from this historical journey are clear:
❗️ First, shared living isn't new—it's deeply rooted in human experience and has evolved alongside our societies.
❗️ Second, successful shared living always balances individual and community needs, regardless of era.
❗️ Finally, while technology and professionalization can enhance the shared living experience, they must serve, not replace, genuine human connection.
From History to Future: The Continuing Evolution of Shared Living
As our world faces unprecedented challenges—from climate change to social fragmentation—coliving offers more than just a housing solution. It represents a return to time-tested ways of living, enhanced by modern innovations and professional operations.
The future of coliving will be shaped by how well we learn from its past while innovating for tomorrow's needs. Based on historical patterns and emerging global trends, we're just beginning to scratch the surface of what's possible when we combine ancient wisdom with modern capabilities in shared living.
Understanding this rich history helps you appreciate that coliving isn't just a passing trend—it's part of humanity's ongoing journey to create better ways of living together.
Next in the Series: #3 The Core Benefits of Coliving: Why It Works
While history shows us how shared living has evolved, our next article will focus on why it works so well today. We'll explore:
◽ Financial Benefits – How coliving creates affordability through shared costs and access to better locations and amenities at optimized prices.
◽ Practical Flexibility – The ways coliving simplifies modern life with streamlined living arrangements, geographic mobility, and time-saving conveniences.
◽ Social Connection – The powerful antidote to modern isolation and loneliness through intentional community design.
◽ Environmental Sustainability – How sharing naturally reduces our environmental footprint and encourages more sustainable living practices.
Beyond these core benefits, we'll examine how coliving addresses some of society's most pressing challenges while creating opportunities for personal growth and well-being. Coliving isn't just changing where we live—it's transforming how we live, connect, and impact our world.
About the Author & The Coliving Expert
"Shared living isn't just an alternative—it's the future."
I’m José Alejandro Llanos, founder of CIVIT, the operating system for shared living, and creator of The Coliving Expert. I’ve lived, learned and worked across 48+ countries, immersed myself in nearly every form of shared housing, and built a career around understanding how we can live better—together.
This article is part of my Foundational Series, designed to introduce newcomers to coliving and establish a rock-solid understanding of its impact. Whether you're a curious first-timer, a policymaker shaping the future, or an investor eyeing the next big housing shift, this series lays the groundwork.
If you’re ready to explore how coliving is reshaping cities, communities, and human connection, subscribe to Coliving Pulse for expert insights or check out CIVIT to see how we’re building the infrastructure for the next era of shared living.