An
intentional community is a planned
residential community designed from the start to have a high degree of
social cohesion and
teamwork. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common
social,
political,
religious, or
spiritual vision and often follow an
alternative lifestyle. They typically share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include
collective households,
cohousing communities,
ecovillages,
communes,
survivalist retreats,
kibbutzim,
ashrams, and
housing cooperatives. New members of an intentional community are generally selected by the community's existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or land owners (if the land is not owned collectively by the community).