Jenise Aminoff didn’t own a car when she and her husband moved into Cambridge Cohousing, a 41-unit urban housing development near Porter Square, in 1999. One major attraction for the couple was its commitment to “green” construction and eco-friendly living, most of its residents opting to get around the city by bicycle and public transportation.

Eventually the Aminoffs had children and purchased a car out of necessity. But the principles that originally appealed to them seem more important than ever, especially considering what’s happening in – and to – the world these days.

“Whether you think of it as green living or just plain practical, resource sharing makes a lot of sense,” said Aminoff, 40. That means sharing everything from outgrown children’s clothing to a single lawnmower passed around among residents. By “living lightly,” according to Cambridge Cohousing’s website, its households use an average of 25 to 35 percent less energy.

Cohousing, a movement that started in Denmark in the 1980s, has been steadily spreading from Western Massachusetts into urban areas, and catching on with a new generation of frugal, environmentally conscious folks.

Carbon footprints and tight household budgets weigh on a lot of city dwellers’ minds, its champions point out. Security, safety, and building a sense of community do, too. Cohousing addresses all of these concerns, they maintain. For young adults and parents of growing families, it means a more neighborly way of living than an apartment complex normally offers. For seniors, it often allows “aging in place” with members of multiple generations.

Cheaper. Cleaner. More democratic. More congenial. More stimulating. What’s not to like?