An
intentional community is a planned
residential community designed to have a much higher degree of
teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common
social,
political,
religious, or
spiritual vision and often follow an
alternative lifestyle. They typically also share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include
collective households,
cohousing communities,
ecovillages,
communes,
survivalist retreats,
kibbutzim,
ashrams and some
housing cooperatives. Typically, new members of an intentional community are selected by the community's existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or land owners.