The Mune

/mjuːn/

The Urban Commune, affectionately referred to as 'the mune', is a set of ideas about how we can build small, resilient communities in our towns and cities. It looks at how we are living in relatively isolated households, within dense urban environments and suggests ways we can connect with friends and neighbours to build a life which is more compassionate, more supportive of our physical and mental wellbeing and crucially less burdensome on individuals. 

The ideas collated here are often born from a place of wanting to abandon modern life. To move away from towns and cities into smaller, more connected communities. To live a slower life, more closely connected to the land. To escape the need to work to live and instead to live more closely in line with our beliefs and ideals. 

There is a romanticism to that idea of leaving it all behind. And some people are able to make that dream a reality, whether through good fortune or hard work. But many of us feel trapped. Or if not trapped, then at least recognise that there are also benefits to living what might be considered a mainstream lifestyle. 

A commune, more usually referred to as an intentional community, is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. Members typically unite around shared values or a common vision, focused on the practical benefits of cooperation and mutual support.

Although intentional communities are sometimes described as alternative lifestyles or social experiments, many see them as a natural response to the isolation and fragmentation of modern housing, offering a return to the social bonds and collaborative spirit found in traditional village life.

Family and friends, housing and work. These things can make us feel tied to a place, for better or worse. But many of the benefits of communal living can still be accessed whilst living in a typical urban household. With imagination and a little organisation, it is possible to free yourself from some of the negative trappings of modern life, without completely abandoning it. 

On this website you'll find a bunch of ideas. None of which are especially original, but all of which will help foster a sense of community and offer you some of the benefits of communal.