Posted: April 29, 2026
This Stories from the Field event featured CECD visiting scholar Lisia Zheng, a Ph.D. candidate in social anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, presenting her research on intentional co-housing communities.
Lisia Zheng, Speaker
Lisia shared her ethnographic fieldwork experience living in an intentional community in Amherst, Massachusetts, examining how co-living communities navigate life challenges through shared spaces, social connection, and collaborative systems. She discussed some of the physical design features, such as common areas and shared facilities, and the challenges and opportunities created by features such as open home layouts that facilitate (or make unavoidable!) interpersonal interaction. Lisia’s talk included her own stories about community life, systems of governance, and the challenges of being an embedded researcher - temporarily - in a close-knit community. During the discussion, attendees discussed the complexities of insider-outsider dynamics and collaborative research with community residents, barriers to community entry, and local municipal perspectives on co-housing development.
If you are interested in connecting with our speaker, Lisia Zheng, please contact the CECD at cecd@psu.edu
