COMMUNITY
A community is a close knit of strangers who learn to trust, respect and become neighbors with over a short or long period of time. Typically in a regular community you are placed beside other individuals that you may or may not associate with. However, for both cohousing communities and ecovillages they have similarities and differences in regards to their closeness as a group. In the case of an eco-village you grow close to every family around you. An example of this was the eco-village of Ithaca. It was the first eco-village the group of us have visited. We automatically could feel the sense of community as soon as we stepped on their first common house. A sense of community grows in an eco-village from various activities and events.
COMMON FACILITIES
Firstly, a common house is a separate house in the middle of the community that everyone can meet up to hang out or for events and activities ran by each other. Group meals such as dinners, lunches, and other meals take place in a common house. You volunteer to help cook the food with others so all the families have the option to come enjoy some food with their neighbors. In these houses there are couches, tables, chairs and kitchens that provide enough space for people to enjoy each other’s company. Another feature of the houses is a play place for the children so when the adults are discussing important issues or having time to themselves, the kids can play together in a safe environment. They all learn to enjoy each other as neighbors because they have common interests. Not only do they believe in making their house sustainable for the environment but also learning the meaning of a community.
SHARING
Secondly, a major part of an ecovillage that involves everyone is sharing. 
The common houses mentioned above are an example of sharing because they have to share duties and responsibilities for the different activities and meals that take place.
Cohousing is not far from an ecovillage. Its main goal is to live together in a community and is usually more directed toward the community feel than the environment aspect. However, people in cohousing also focus on environment but not compared to ecovillages. Cohousing has common houses with the same type of feel as an ecovillage. It has rooms for adults and children, play areas, laundry rooms, living rooms, and kitchens. The houses are all close together because they strive to obtain the fullness of friends living together.
DECISION MAKING
The major part of living in an ecovillage is the decision making process. In an ecovillage it is common to use consensus. This means that there is a group of people who get together to make a major decision for their community. Not all cohousing units and ecovillages use this form of decision-making. However, it is very common to see this because of the main focus of community they are trying to reach. Consensus is a productive way of making decisions because members see eye to eye in regards to the final result.