Likely the oldest form of intentional community, these groups are organized to support religious practices or spiritual beliefs while minimizing material suffering. An ancient group of this kind, older than monasteries, are the Epicurean. Modern versions of this type of effort include ashrams, nunneries, and other spiritual communities that defy neat labels.
When groups feel as though the world is changing quickly or in a way that doesn't match with their values, they may form a community focused on preserving treasured practices of the past. Amish, Indigenous, and back to the land groups all have in common a focus on promoting traditional skills and knowledge despite different underlying values.
Some groups are focused on the evolution of a specific social structure or dynamic. Examples include the Firehouse and Distant Castle, collectively owned music and art spaces in Massachusetts. Good examples of social experimental communities are anti-oppression mutual aid groups, polyamory groups, or LARPing communities.
Elements of service are common among intentional communities. Some are organized around the idea of service, while others have programs that serve their broader communities. This can include organizations that work with homeless populations or even organizations that run bulk food purchasing clubs. Good examples of service-based communities are volunteer fire services, the boys and girl scouts, and Rotary Clubs.
In high cost of living areas, communities formed around economic security can be particularly effective at allowing creative and other groups to remain in place as costs rise. Communities can use tools such as income pooling, cost splitting, or cooperatively run business ventures to support economic access. These communities are focused on reducing the total cost of housing for participants.
"From war resistance to LGBTQIA+ enclaves to liberatory organizing for Black power, identity-based safe havens are another reason people do community." Identity-based Safe Havens offer marginalized communities a place to organize and normalize their identities within the group. They allow individuals to grow, a place to belong not be set apart.
Having a safe and comfortable neighborhood, improving access to amenities for your family, and using communal mechanisms to improve one's overall quality of life at relative to cost are another set of drivers for communities to form. Many co-housing organizations in the US fall into this category. An HOA or renter's association could also fit into this category. These communities are not about overall lower housing costs, but instead about spending more as a group to get more than one could afford on their own.
Communities dedicated to ecological sustainability area a relatively recent phenomenon. This type could include anywhere from modern ecovillage groups and range to all those that view humans and the land as being in partnership with one another. This theme is prominent in the Earthship movement that originated in New Mexico.
